Once Broken, Twice Shattered
by Kare-San
Summary: Raven is still recovering from heartbreak and Beastboy wants to help her. Disaster ensues. To make things worse an alien looking like Rorek but calling himself Malchior shows up! To top it all off even if HE isn't evil, his older brother IS...Finished
1. Dinner Date

Disclaimer. I do not own Teen Titans. If I did I would be much richer. 

_Once Broken, Twice Shattered. . . _

Part One: Dinner Date

The young man with the white hair surveyed Earth as he floated next to the moon. "It has found its way here, but why?" He murmured. His sightless eyes could not truly see the planet. His second sight showed it to him as a ball of millions of points of light, all various colors, each point a different living being. If he tried hard enough he could focus on any one point and hone in on it, even read its very soul, but there were much more important things to do. He held out a hand and the light of the Earth turned into a pale shimmer. "There," he pointed out into space. The large red light shone like a beacon. He focused on it. What he sought was in a dark room, in a 'T' shaped structure, in a city called 'Jump'. He glanced behind him and his heart nearly stopped. What appeared to him as a large black rent in space was closer than he anticipated. "I have to hurry." He fixated the spot in his mind, then wrapped himself in his cloak. Shooting through space to what most called 'the Blue Star' he only prayed that he wasn't too late. 

-------------------- 

Beastboy lingered outside of Raven's room. He'd been there for at least ten minutes, pacing. Finally he took a deep breath and knocked. 

No answer. 

Beastboy frowned. He tried again, knocking louder this time. 

No answer. 

Frustrated, Beastboy shifted into a gorilla and pounded on the door heavily. He then morphed back into his own form and bellowed "Yo! Raven!" 

"What are you doing?" 

Beastboy turned around to see Raven standing behind him, a cup of tea in her hand. She was carrying a book with her telekinetically, and looked mildly annoyed at the fact that Beastboy had been pounding on her bedroom door. 

Beastboy suddenly looked meek. "Raven! Uh, hi!" 

Raven's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Hello." She pushed past him and opened the door to her room. "Good-bye." The door slid closed. 

"Wait! Raven! I wanted to ask you something!" 

The door slid open a fraction of the way, just enough so that one of Raven's eyes was visible. "What?" She said in her usual hoarse tone. 

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go to dinner." 

Raven sighed. "Its nice of you to ask, but I'm not really feeling up to three hours of fighting over what topping to put on the pizza, then deciding on our usual. I'd rather just stay here and read." The door began to close again, but Beastboy wedged his foot between the door and the frame. 

"Wait! Raven!" 

Raven shook her head and turned around. "What?" 

"Uh, I wasn't planning on, uh, inviting the others. I thought it would be nice if it was just. . . You and me," he said quietly. 

Raven blinked, and her book dropped to the ground. "W- what?" She said. "Why?" The door slid open fully now. 

"Well," Beastboy rubbed the back of his neck, "we've gotten to know each other over the past few weeks. You know, with me turning into a mutant and. . . other stuff-" 

Raven knew what he was talking about. Her mind was immediately drawn to a chest in one corner. In it sat a white book that held within its pages a cursed dragon named Malchior. He had paraded around as an ancient and powerful wizard and tricked Raven into falling in love with him so he could use her to get free from the book. She had ultimately sealed him away, but she still suffered from the emotional scars the dragon had left behind. 

"- I just thought it might be nice if we went out and we could, you know, talk," Beastboy concluded. He saw that's Raven's expression had changed and she wasn't really focusing on him anymore. "Rae?" He whispered. 

It seemed to bring Raven out of her trance. "I- I'm sorry. I really don't think I should. . ." She could almost hear Malchior laughing at her. It hurt, hurt so much, that moment when she realized everything he had said was lies. 

"Please?" Beastboy asked. Then his expression changed to anger in such a flash Raven was startled, "You- you haven't been out of the tower since that- that _thing_ used you like a puppet. Raven, Rae," he sounded quiet and concerned, "I only want to help." 

Raven said nothing. She turned around and ducked back into her room. The door shut and Beastboy sighed. He slowly started to walk down the hallway. 

"What time?" 

Beastboy turned around to see Raven standing just outside her doorway. "Uh, how about seven?" 

Raven barely tilted her head in a nod. "Okay. Seven." Then she was gone, slipping back into her room. 

Beastboy jumped into the air. "Yes!" He shouted. He ran down the hallway happily, then decided to change into a fresh uniform for the occasion. 

---- 

"You asked her out?" Cyborg said, looking at Beastboy as if he had suddenly turned a brilliant shade of fuschia instead of his normal chartreuse. 

"She said _yes?_" Robin said, unable to comprehend how it had happened. 

"I asked her to dinner, that's not the same as asking her out," Beastboy said. 

"Sure sounds like it to me," Robin commented, a big grin spreading across his face. "I think-" 

---- 

"- that this news is most wondrous!" Starfire said happily, dragging Raven into her room. Raven looked less than pleased. 

"I just want to borrow a hairbrush," Raven said. 

"Nonsense! I cannot allow you to leave with a mere hairbrush! We must make use of these wonderful hair ornaments I got at the mall of shopping!" Starfire bubbled. 

Raven wrenched free, a look of terror on her face. "Starfire this isn't a _date_ or anything. Beastboy and I are-" 

---- 

"-just going out as friends," Beastboy protested. 

"Riiight," Cyborg smirked. "BB, you don't have to play with us. We both know you've had a thing for Raven for a while now. Why hide it?" 

Beastboy's ears drooped. "Guys, please. I don't want to talk about this." 

Cyborg rubbed his hair. "Aw, c'mon BB!" 

Beastboy looked very distressed. "Hey man, lay off!" He shoved Cyborg away. 

"Hey, what's up with you man?" Cyborg said. Robin put a hand on his friend's metal shoulder. 

"Remember Terra?" Robin said quietly. 

"Oh," Cyborg said. "Right." 

Beastboy turned around a less then happy emotion on his face. "Look guys I just don't-" 

---- 

"-know how I feel about Beastboy," Raven was struggling to get away from her strong Alien friend, "but I doubt it is anything resembling love!" 

Starfire was happily clipping every shiny clip she could find into Raven's hair. "I have heard Robin say that opposites attract. You always push people back, and Beastboy pulls people to him. That is opposite, so you must attract, yes?" 

Raven shook her head furiously, half trying to correct Starfire, half trying to get rid of the hair clips. "That applies to magnets. Not to people." 

"Robin says that it applies to both," Starfire said matter-of-factly. 

Raven scowled. "Why are you trying to give me love advice when Beastboy is clearly in love with someone else and _you_ and _Robin_ can't straighten out _your _feelings for one another?" 

"R- Robin and I are good friends," Starfire said, turning bright red. "Beastboy is in love with someone? Who might that be?" 

Raven glowered. "Terra. Remember?" 

"Oh, that is true." Starfire looked grave. "But Terra is like a rock and you are much more alive," Starfire pinched Raven's cheek. "I am sure that everything will turn out joyously between you two." 

Raven turned away. "I don't even like him. I don't know why I agreed to this. He's just going to be loud and rude and annoying all dinner long." Starfire watched sadly as Raven pulled out the clips from her hair one by one using her telekinesis. "I don't want to do this," she whispered. 

"Why not Raven? Beastboy is good and amusing and happy!" 

"And I'm _not_," Raven said. "I'm dark and moody and _creepy_," Raven said. 

"Opposites-" Starfire began, but Raven cut her off. 

"I was attracted to _Malchior_," she said bitterly. "He made me feel special, feel loved. He was _evil_. He used me, then tossed me aside, and still a part of me longs for him. It longs for the things he said, the way he acted- the way he made me _feel_. I felt alive around him. I felt alive around evil." She closed her eyes. "I can't do this!" 

---- 

"Aw, man," Beastboy shook his head. "I can't do this! What if I say something wrong? Raven's going to eat me alive!" 

"Chill dude. Lets start off with the basics: Where are you taking her to eat?" Robin asked. 

"The pizza parlor," Beastboy said. Robin and Cyborg shook their heads. 

"Man, even if this isn't a date you don't want to go there. We always go there. Tell you want. It you swear not to hurt my baby, I'll let you take the T-Car and you can go to the drive in movies," Cyborg offered. 

"Really? Gee, thanks Cy," Beastboy smiled. Then he looked serious. "But this isn't a date, so we wouldn't be going to the movies." 

"Right," Robin rolled his eyes. "Are you going in uniform?" 

"Yeah," Beastboy said slowly. "I think Raven is too." Cyborg and Robin both shook their heads. 

Robin dragged Beastboy along towards his room, "No way, you're not going out-" 

---- 

"-in uniform!" Starfire exploded. "That would be furdorokian of you!" 

"It would be what-?" Raven began, but she found herself buried by a pile of flying clothes. As she freed herself from the pile she looked up at what Starfire was holding out. "No," she said flatly. "Absolutely not! No pink!" 

Starfire blushed slightly. "Oh, I did not intend for this to be used by you Raven. I was hoping to wear it myself sometime soon." Starfire stuck the pink dress away again. She sifted through her wardrobe and picked out a black skirt and a white shirt. "I think my sister left these with me when she visited long ago. They would look (what is the word you earthlings use?) _sexy_ on you!" 

The clip that Raven was moving telekinetically shot through the window like a bullet. "_Never_ say that again!" She said in a panic. 

"Why? Is not sexy a term of endearment?" Starfire's face fell. "If it is not, then I overheard Robin speaking badly about me. . ." 

One of Raven's eyebrows twitched up in surprise. "Robin wasn't insulting you, but I'm sure you weren't supposed to hear that." 

"Oh? Is it a secret word?" Starfire asked curiously. She pressed the shirt up against Raven's chest. "I sure that seeing you in this will bring Beastboy much joy!" 

"I don't care about bringing Beastboy joy!" Raven growled. 

"But-!" Starfire protested. 

"I'm going to wear my uniform!" Raven said. "And that's-" 

---- 

"-final!" Beastboy said, shape shifting into a mouse and leaping out of the tux his friends had forced him into. Forming back into his usual self he said, "This is a friendly dinner, not a formal!" He checked his watch. "I've gotta go." He scampered off. 

Robing and Cyborg shrugged at each other. "You know he's doomed right?" Cyborg said, 

"Oh yeah," Robin agreed. 

------------------- 

Raven had escaped Starfire's room using her powers. She was floating back to her room when she ran right into Beastboy. "Raven!" He said, smiling. "Uh, hi! Dinner?" 

"Seven all ready?" Raven said. Beastboy nodded. She touched down on the floor. "Okay, this may seem weird, but can we take the window out? I don't want to run into the others." 

"Sounds _great_," Beastboy beamed. He didn't need any more harassment. "Rae, you know that this isn't a date right? It's just a dinner between two friends." 

Raven nodded. "I know that. It the rest of the Titans that don't seem to get it." 

Beastboy laughed. "They sure don't." 

Since Raven's room was the closest she opened it up and allowed Beastboy to enter. She went over to the window. Beastboy took a quick look around. There was Raven's mind-mirror, her items for magic, and books were all over. As far from Raven's bed as it could be was a trunk. Beastboy knew what lay inside, He felt the sudden urge to go over and smash it, but suppressed it by changing into a raven and fluttering over to the windowsill. "Funny," she said flatly. She opened the window and flew out. Beastboy followed. 

_So, where are we going_? 

Beastboy squawked in a startled manner. That was Raven's voice inside his head! 

_I have telepathy, remember? Its easier to talk this way than to try and translate bird-talk_, Raven said. She rolled her eyes, and her mental tone very much sounded exasperated. 

_I knew that!_ Beastboy said, puffing out his bird chest. 

_Right_. . . Raven said skeptically. _Where are we going?_

Beastboy mentally shrugged. _Wherever you want to go Rae._ _I'm fine with anything._ His eyes brightened. _That hair clip of yours is very pretty._

Raven stopped abruptly. _I though I had gotten rid-_ she stopped, realizing her mind was still linked with Beastboy. She cut off quickly and put a hand to her hair. She tugged out a small blue clip in the shape of a dragonfly with pearly looking wings. Blast Starfire! 

Flapping up and down to hold his place in midair, Beastboy looked distressed. _Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!_

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," Raven said. She thought of dropping the dragonfly into the waters below them, but something compelled her to put it back into her hair. _Never mind, let's just go._

_Okay. . . Are you sure?_ Raven glowered at him. _Ah, guess so._ They flew on silently for several minutes. _Where did we decide on going?_

_We didn't_, Raven admitted somewhat sheepishly. 

_We could do pizza, _Beastboy started, _but we always do pizza. Oh! Wait! I know this place that makes awesome pies! I mean, like, desert pies, not like pizza pies. . ._

Raven's mind was suddenly assaulted by a quick image of Terra at a counter, eating pie. Raven recognized it as one of Beastboy's memories. From what she could tell this was what was going on while Slade was trying to kill them in Titan's Tower. Raven weakened the link between their minds slightly and the memory faded from her mind. 

_There really isn't anything to eat for dinner though. I mean, not for me, being vegetarian and all. . ._

Raven sighed. _Let's just do pizza. Maybe we'll think up something different for next time._

_Next time?_ Beastboy's mental voice raised an octave. 

Raven didn't respond. She had surprised herself. That had come out without her really thinking about it. She was actually looking forward to dinner, despite her reservations. "There's the pizza parlor," Raven said out loud, pointing. She swooped down and landed on the outside dining area. Beastboy landed as well and morphed into his usual self. "So, I'll go round up a couple of menus-" 

Raven shook her head. "Why bother? We're going to get half tofu, half veggie." She sat down. Beastboy looked slightly put out. 

"Well, yeah, but what about drinks?" 

"Coke and an herbal tea," Raven said. 

Beastboy sighed. "Okay, I'll put the order in." He walked off. 

Raven felt a bit guilty, but shook it off. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings or spoil his plans. She fidgeted at the table. She was nervous about being alone and out in public at the same time. What if someone approached her? What would she say? 

Beastboy was quick to return however, and Raven was glad for that. It meant he would take over all the talking if anyone came up to him. He was a sucker for attention. "So," Beastboy began as he slid into his chair. "Read any good books lately?" 

"I've been sticking to spell books for the time being," Raven murmured. "The last 'novel' I read wasn't so _good_." 

Beastboy cringed. He should have known what that question would remind her of! "I guess you won't be rating it too highly on Amazon dot com, eh?" 

Raven didn't look very amused. The waiter brought out a pot of tea and two glasses. Raven raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you order Coke?" She asked as she poured herself a glass. 

Beastboy shook his head. "Naw. I wanted to try this out," he held out his cup and Raven poured him teas as well. "I mean you drink it all the time. It's got to be okay. . ." He took a sip and his face contorted, the flavor totally unexpected. Raven sighed deeply and sipped her cup of tea. Beastboy bit his lip. 

Raven was looking down at her cup, staring at her tinted reflection in the tea when she asked, "Why did you ask me out to dinner like this?" 

"I told you, I just wanted to help. You've been cooped up inside for weeks now. I know I'm not your favorite Titan or anything, but the other were going to let you do your own thing, you know. I thought that you needed to get out," Beastboy sipped the tea delicately, trying to adjust to the flavor. 

Raven fell silent. After a few minutes she spoke. "This is ridiculous," Raven grumbled. 

"Why do you say that?" Beastboy said, surprised. 

"It- it just _is_," she said. "I should have just stayed back at the tower." 

"Raven, you know, you're not the only one who's been hurt by someone they love," Beastboy said. Raven looked up at him. 

"Terra," she said, realizing what he was talking about. 

"Rae, I know that we haven't ever been the best of friends, but I thought that maybe, after all of this insanity has happened, we could. . . make something better out of it," Beastboy tentatively reached over and touched her hand. 

Raven jerked away from him in a sudden, furious motion. "_No!_" She roared, so loudly that the rest of the restaurant froze in place. The teapot exploded in a sudden surge of black energy. "Is _that_ what this is all about?" 

Beastboy, shocked at Raven's reaction, was too stunned to say anything. He was bleeding from a shallow cut he had gotten from a piece of the teapot. 

"Terra is not like Malchior! He delved into my soul and tried to corrupt it for his own purposes. He was always a monster! Terra was not, and is not now. She's a lump of rock, but somehow that is her redemption. If _I _ had ever pulled off the same kind of stunt she did do you think I would have been let off so easily?" 

"Huh?!" Beastboy looked shocked. "What are you saying?" His eyes went wide. "Dude, Raven, you don't think that we liked Terra better than _you_-" 

"_You_ certainly do!" Raven snarled. People were leaving the pizza parlor in droves as things began twisting and writhing under her power. "Tell me, right now, if we could go and turn Terra back to normal at this very moment, would you have bothered asking me out to dinner? Or would you have asked me out only to see if Malchior had taught me a spell to reverse the effects?" 

"That's not what I was- I didn't mean-!" Beastboy exclaimed. He fell out of his chair he was so startled. The fact that his chair went flying helped. Holding up a hand in front of his face he began "Raven, I thought that we-" 

"_We **nothing**_!" Raven shrieked, hurling both teacups at him. 

Beastboy turned into a turtle and the teacups shattered on his shell. He transformed back and saw that tears had filled Raven's eyes. Beastboy stared at her in horror. What had he done? "Raven, you're making a huge mistake!" 

"Did you think that you could catch me on the rebound from Malchior? I thought you were a better person than that!" Raven looked ready to hurl a whole table at him but stopped when she heard people screaming behind her. She spun around and a look of total dread crossed her face. All around her things were being swallowed by her black power. "No," she cried out hoarsely. "No, no, no. . ." She fell to her knees. 

Beastboy crawled over to her and put his arms around her. "Raven-" he said quietly, holding onto her. She sobbed brokenly, and then suddenly melted into a pool of black power and faded out. All of the tables and chairs that had been in her power crashed to the floor. Beastboy let his hands fall to the ground. "I'm sorry," he said to the wind. 

Author's Note: This is much shorter than the chapters I normally post for XME: S5 because it's supposed to be a one shot story. In total it might come to the same amount of pages as an XME: S5 chapter, or a little more. For those of you reading XME: S5 I am working on chapter 9. I just needed a short break from it. I wanted to write a couple of different stories. This may disappoint you, but I hope you'll forgive me. XME: S5 will still be updated! Hopefully soon! I've also begun to put artwork pertaining to my fan fiction stories at You can see my gallery here: . Please take a look! There is stuff up for later in this fic, and I will soon be adding some XME: S5 artwork too. Plus the site is just awesome and deserves your attention! Trust me on this! 


	2. Malchior

Disclaimer: I still don't own Teen Titans. I probably never will 

_Once Broken, Twice Shattered_

__

__Part Two: Malchior

It was fairly easy for the white haired sorcerer to find Jump city. There was so many unique individuals focused in the place. Their auras made the city light up. The problem was locating the 'T' shaped tower. Since he was blind he couldn't see the building. He could see the essence of the structures around them, but they were fuzzy and they always looked more like circles than like real buildings. The only reason he knew what they looked like at all was that he could sense what others perceived about their surroundings. It was the way he saw the world. 

He knew that the tower he was looking for was large and there were five people living in it. That was about all. It wasn't much to go on. He sighed deeply. Closing his eyes he reached out with his power. He could feel the red aura of what he was seeking, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. He was distracted by a small boy's voice. 

"Are you a Teen Titan?" 

The sorcerer opened his eyes, and looked down at the boy. He appeared to the sorcerer as a ball of light in a shade of pale gold. Next to him was a slightly taller ball of pale blue light, another boy. This boy spoke next. "He's not a Titan. Beastboy, Robin and Cyborg are the only boy Titans." 

"Pardon me, but may I ask what is a 'Teen Titan'?" He asked through the gray cloth wrapped around his mouth. 

"They're super heroes! Don't you know anything mister?" The blue light spoke. 

"He must be new to town Johnny," The golden boy said. 

"Yes, I am new to this place. My name is Malchior of Noll, from the line of Rorek of Noll," he bowed slightly and the two boys giggled. "My young sirs, can you tell me where I might find a building in the shape of a 'T'?" 

"I _told_ you he had something to do with the Titans!" The golden boy said eagerly. 

Malchior paused. People who called themselves 'Teen Titans' living in a 'T' shaped tower. He almost laughed. "You say they are super heroes? What do you mean?" 

"They go out and save the city with their special powers!" The blue boy, Johnny, said eagerly. "I wish I had special powers," he added sullenly. 

"The Titans live over there-" The boy pointed and Malchior had to focus his mind to see what the boy was seeing, "-on that little island in the river." 

"Thank you," he bowed again. "I am indebted to you. Tell me this though- has there been a dragon seen nearby?" 

"A while back the Titans fought a HUGE dragon. It was black an purple and it breathed fire and _everything_," the golden boy said eagerly. "It was so cool!" 

Malchior looked very worried. "Thank you again young masters. I wish you a long life and good fortunes." Without any further conversation Malchior lifted off of the ground and sailed through the air towards Titans Tower. 

"Wow! He can fly!" The golden boy gushed. 

"Hey, Tommy?" The Johnny said, "What's 'indebted' mean?" 

Tommy shrugged. "Beats me." 

---------------------- 

When Beastboy entered the tower he was tired, hungry, and scratched up. Robing Cyborg and Starfire all stared at him. Then Robin turned to Cyborg. "Pay up," he said. 

"Aw _man_," Cyborg moaned, pulling twenty dollars from a compartment and handing it to his friend. 

Beastboy became very angry. "You took _bets_ on this?" 

"Only on which one of you would be back here first," Robin said. 

"You know, this isn't funny!" Beastboy said furiously. "That Malchior creep really did a number on Raven! She's still really upset about it." 

"Is that why you are all in a hurt way? Your scratches are numerous Beastboy," Starfire said. She surged into the air eagerly. "I shall go get the antibiotic!" 

"Don't bother Starfire. I'll be fine," Beastboy flopped down on the couch. "I was just trying to be nice. I was just trying to get to know her and she took it the totally wrong way. She thought I was trying to pick her up because I lost Terra and I thought she would be on the rebound from Malchior." 

"Ouch," Cyborg whistled. 

"I mean, I think Raven is-" 

Suddenly klaxons went on all over the place. "Intruder!" Robin shouted. "On the roof!" Starfire grabbed Robin and they were out of the window and on the roof first. There was a figure with his back towards them, staring out at the water. "Hey!" Robin shouted. The man turned. Starfire gasped and Robin's eyes went wide. "It can't be!" 

Malchior blinked. There was a girl with a vibrant orange aura and a young man who's aura was a stunning red. He had to dim down his second sight a bit. They were surely powerful individuals. "My name is Malchior of Noll-" he began. 

"You garrabork!" Shrieked Starfire. "How dare you show your face outside of that book!" He hands glowed green and her eyes blazed. 

"We're going to put you back where you belong- in the recycle bin!" Robin shouted. He readied his staff. 

Malchior threw up his hands. "Please! There has been a mistake made here! If you are talking about the book that I think you are then you have realized that my name is the same as that of the dread dragon imprisoned there! I am from the line of Rorek of Noll, the man who defeated the dragon!" 

"Is this another one of your tricks? Why are you trying to hurt Raven again?" Robin roared. 

"Raven? Who is Raven? This is my first visit to this planet I assure you." He held out a magic talisman. "Weeks ago this talisman started glowing a bright green, which meant that the dread dragon had escaped his prison. See that it still glows now? That means the spell my ancestor Rorek put on the book that held him has not been put back into place by a sorcerer of our line. I'm to help you defeat the dragon and seal him away for good!" 

"The dragon was sealed away by Raven," Starfire said, her eyes no longer glowing but her hands still blazing with green light. "But you look like the person from the book and you have his name too." 

"What?" Malchior said. "I have been told that I look like Rorek of Noll, but I share my name with the dragon." 

"Why is that?" Robin demanded. 

"The name was given to me by my mad brother who seeks only power. He had hoped I would be as evil as him and gave me this foul name for that purpose. I prefer to be called 'Mal'." 

Robin was bout to ask more when out of nowhere a green gorilla charged at Malchior. The young sorcerer was staring right at him, but didn't realize the threat because he could not see. It only looked like to him that someone with a blazing green aura was walking towards him. 

"Beastboy! No!" Robin shouted. Beastboy connected with Malchior and he went flying. Starfire flew to catch him. She set the young sorcerer down on the tower roof again. Malchior grabbed his aching chin. 

"Please stay here Mr. Malchior," She advised him. "We are going to have to calm Beastboy down." 

"_Calm down?_ You want me to _calm down_? This is the monster who broke Raven's heart!" Beastboy shouted. 

"No it's not!" Robin said. "Cyborg- hold him!" Cyborg, who had arrived with Beastboy, obeyed, but he looked almost as confused and angry as Beastboy. 

"Broke Raven's heart?" Malchior said, baffled. 

"That book, with the dragon in it-" Robin began, "-Raven has it. While she was reading it Malchior the dragon used his name but your grandfather's form to trick Raven into helping him escape the book. He made her fall in love with him, and then devastated her." 

"Good lord," Malchior's face fell. "Will the line of Noll be again sullied by evil?" Malchior shook his head, and then turned to face Beastboy. "My sincere apologies to your- oh! Your friend is dying!" 

Everyone suddenly looked panicked. "Who? Raven?" Beastboy asked. "Oh no! It's all my fault she out alone!" 

"No! The man holding you! His aura is splintered- broken! His life is only partially there." Malchior said. "I am no great healer but I will do what I can-" he held his hand out towards Cyborg. The robot man looked startled. 

"I'm fine. My systems say everything's a-okay." 

"Systems?" Malchior looked totally confused. 

"I'm part robot," Cyborg said, releasing Beastboy and holding out an arm. "See?" 

Malchior shook his head. "Look at my eyes. They have no color, no pupils. My sight was ripped from my eyes by my brother. The most powerful spells cannot be recited without activating them. Therefore they are written in books to be memorized. When I realized how evil my brother truly was I tried to blind him so he could read no more spells. I scarred the skin of his eyelids and around his eyes but he was able to protect his sight. In his rage he reversed the spell, plucking my vision from my orbs. I see only through second sight, which lets me see auras, essences, and perceived what others perceive, but no more." 

"So how did you find us?" Robin asked, putting his staff away. 

"I felt for the aura of the book, and I asked directions," Malchior admitted. "But I must warn you, that book, even with the dragon sealed away, is most dangerous. It is the most powerful book of spells in the world. Rorek of Noll placed all his knowledge into that book. Through it you can travel to a mystical place that hold every book he ever read, and some books that his ancestors read. Its a massive library of spells, and the only way to it is the book-" 

"So people are gonna come after the book in order to get to the spells," Cyborg assessed. 

"Yes. That is why I need to take it with me. My brother is close behind me, because he is always trying to kill me. If he gets to this planet and realizes the book is here he will surely destroy you in order to take it." 

"The book is in Raven's room," Robin said. "But I don't think its a good idea that you go anywhere near there, just in case Raven comes-" 

There was a horrible shriek of rage that sounded half human, half like the warped cry of a bird. The sky directly above Titan's Tower was filled with the looming black from of a giant telekinetic bird. In the center was Raven, her hood lit up by four red, glowing eyes. "_You! I thought I had sealed you away forever!_" Raven roared in unnatural tones. "_How dare you show your face again! I'll tear you limb from limb!_" 

Malchior threw his hands in front of his eyes and screamed. "Please! Your fury is blinding me! Your aura blazes so brightly- it is consuming my mind!" 

"_I'll do more than blind you, you cursed beast!_" 

"Raven! This isn't Malchior the dragon!" Robin cried. "This is a descendant of Rorek the sorcerer! His name _is_ Malchior, but he's not evil!" 

"_He lies!_" Raven shrieked. 

Starfire and Cyborg threw themselves in front of the cowering Malchior. "Robin speaks the truth Raven!" Starfire shouted. "He is not here to hurt us! He is a man in form, not a dragon! Can you not see this?" 

"_Another of his tricks!_" Raven landed and the dark bird around her faded, but she loomed up unnaturally tall. Beastboy jumped in front of her. "_Out of my way!_" 

"No, Raven! This is my fault. I made a mistake bringing you out tonight. I thought it would help but it only hurt you more. You're letting your anger take over right now, is that what you want?" Raven shrunk slightly. "If he was the dragon we would have all been toast by now. Malchior couldn't have escaped the book unless someone let him out. None of us could have," he gestured at the other Titans, "and unless you did again, no one did. No one else has that kind of power." 

Raven shrunk significantly after that argument. Her eyes changed to normal. Cyborg and Starfire relaxed as Malchior pulled himself up. Robin walked over towards Raven and Beastboy. 

"Malchi- uh- Mal is here because he thought that no one outside his family could seal Malchior the Dragon back into the book once he was released. He came to help, though it wasn't actually needed. Now he wants to take the book away from here so his brother doesn't get it." 

"No," Malchior said. 

"No?" Robin raised an eyebrow. 

"I must redeem the name of Noll," Malchior stated flatly. "I must redeem my name and form to this wondrous lady. I have never seen an aura so powerful and yet so beautiful as hers. That something that shared my name and form could do her such harm is- it is a crime. I will not leave here until I have done something in exchange for her forgiveness." 

"Go away," Raven said weakly. He eyes glowed white with fury, but they faded and then surged again as if she couldn't quite keep her powers working. "I don't want you here. I don't care if you're not the Malchior of the book. Your armor, your hair, your voice- everything about you is the same. Get out of here, get off my planet!" Her powers surged above her as an angry raven. "I don't-" she wavered, her powers fading. Malchior saw her aura fading rapidly, a sign of sudden exhaustion. Her eyes stopped glowing and the bird around her vanished. "Get off-" Raven fainted, falling into Beastboy's arms. 

Malchior could see a change in Beastboy's aura, a sign of a surge of emotion. When Starfire and Robin were near each other their auras got the same extra glow. Malchior knew what it meant. He had learned how to read the way people's auras changed a very long time ago. Cyborg's aura was different. It disturbed him, but if only half the man was really alive it made sense. It was something new. This planet was sure to hold many surprises for him. 

The other Titans watched a bit surprised as Beastboy stroked Raven's hair, then picked her up and began walking back inside the tower with her. "Man. I've _never_ seen Rae lose it like that," Cyborg said. 

"Is this how date are supposed to end?" Starfire asked curiously. "If so dating on Earth is not very pleasant." 

Robin shook his head. "No, that's not how dates are supposed to go." He turned to Malchior. "Why don't you come inside?" 

Malchior bowed. "I would be honored. I'd like to learn more about you. From what I can perceive, you are powerful individuals protecting many people. It intrigues me." 

"I'll set up a computer rundown of some of our cases," Cyborg offered. "A verbal one," he added thoughtfully. 

"Thank you," Malchior nodded. 

"Would you care for a traditional Tamaranian welcoming feast?" Starfire said happily. "I am sure I could cook some up for you!" 

"Star, I don't think that-" Robin began, but much to his surprise Malchior smiled. 

"Tamaranian food is one of my favorites in the galaxy. I would be delighted." 

Starfire lit up like a beacon. "No! It is _I_ who will be delighted!" She began to drag Malchior inside, much to his surprise. Cyborg and Robin looked at each other. 

"Hey, if he can deal with Star's cooking, he's gotta be a saint," Cyborg pointed out. 

"It's not Mal I'm worried about. It's his brother- and Raven." Robin's eye's narrowed in thought. "I've never seen her eyes like that." 

"I have," Cyborg admitted, "and it's _not_ a good sign, but I think Raven will be okay. She just needs some rest. The Dragon really left some open wounds, but they'll heal." Robin still looked skeptical. "She's got BB." 

"What does that have to do with anything?" Robin asked curiously. 

"You were the one who mentioned Terra before and you didn't figure this out?" Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Terra betrayed BB just like Malch- that crazy dragon betrayed Raven." Robin blinked. "They make an interesting couple, don't they?" 

"I'll say. . ." Robin shook his head. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long couple of days." 

------------------- 

Raven's head was pounding. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was back in her room. She couldn't quite remember how she got there. She sat up, which made her head hurt even worse. Placing a hand to her head, she felt something in her hair. She pulled it out. It was a small blue dragonfly hair clip with pearly wings. 

The past day's events came rushing back to her in a flood of raw emotion. Before she could suppress it, her powers had cracked the large vanity mirror on her wall. Raven got up out of bed and charged towards the door. The sky outside her window was pitch black. It had to be a few hours after she had gone ballistic on the roof. Raven threw the door open with her power, turned to charge down the hallway, and nearly tripped over the sleeping form of Beastboy. 

"What are you doing?" Raven demanded. She was still furious about dinner, but part of her knew it wasn't his fault. 

Beastboy shot up, startled. He gulped as he found himself sitting up right between Raven's slender legs. Raven looked down at him, her eyes blazing. He turned into a mouse and scurried out from underneath her, turning back into himself a few feet away. "I'm sorry! I was just waiting to see if you were okay and I must have dozed off," he said in a panic. 

Raven looked at him with a very odd expression. "You were worried about me?" 

"Well, yeah, duh!" Beastboy said. "I was the one who started that whole thing at dinner, and if you had hurt yourself by using all that power it was totally my fault!" He smacked himself in the head. "Raven, I totally didn't mean what you thought I meant. I was hoping that we could share feelings, you know? It wasn't that I wanted to 'get you on the rebound!'" 

Raven paused, then smiled faintly. "It's okay. I- I'm sorry that I blew up like that. I've been holding all of the emotions back because I was worried what letting them out might do, but I probably just caused them to become more powerful." She suddenly looked very grave. "I almost gave into Him last night. . . I haven't been that mad since Terra-" she trailed off. Suddenly her head swiveled. "Is _he_ still here?" She said acidly. 

"You mean Mal?" Beastboy said. Raven's eyes glowed. "Yeah, he's still here. Raven, he's not like Malchior. He's a good man, and he wants to prove that to you any way he can. He's spent the last three hours listening to every file he can about us that isn't restricted and trying to think up something." 

"He can think up _leaving_," Raven said furiously. She began to storm down the hallway. 

"Raven!" Beastboy shouted, "You forgot your cloak!" 

Raven stopped, suddenly feeling very under clothed. She hadn't even realized she was without her cloak. She immediately backtracked to her room. "Why didn't you say anything before?" Raven snapped. 

"I was enjoying the view-" Beastboy began, then realized how that sounded. He quickly recovered, "I mean, you're always hiding under it, you look nice in something different for a change." 

Raven gave him an odd look. She slipped back into the room and came out with her deep blue cloak on, hood pulled up and all. She was toting the large white book. Beastboy looked at it and felt a mixture of anger and shock. Raven walked right past him without saying a word, her expression her usual impassive one. Beastboy smacked himself mentally. _Idiot! _

_Don't do that._

Beastboy turned to stare at Raven's retreating form. Where had that come from? He almost wanted to call out to her, but he had the feeling that it was better to let her go. 

"I hope Mal survives this encounter," the changeling murmured. 

-------------------- 

"Please, if you could tell me more about Terra-" Malchior was saying to the computer when he felt the powerful aura of Raven approaching him. He turned around to face her. Her aura wasn't nearly as bright as it had been hours earlier, but it was still brighter than any of the other Titans'. She was holding the book, which was glowing its usual red, reflecting the dragon within its pages. Malchior stood up and bowed. "Lady Raven," he murmured, "I am at your service." 

"If you're at my service, then _leave_," Raven said. 

Malchior shook his head. "I cannot. Honor demands that I make amends for what you believe I did to you." 

"You are forgiven," she said shortly and shoved the book at him. "If this is what you want then here, I clean my hands of it. Take it where you will and _get off this planet_." 

Malchior pulled the cloth from around his mouth, revealing chin that completed the handsome face well. He was frowning. "You have powers that reveal to you the minds of others if you so wish it. My powers are much the same, though they are not nearly as extensive. I can see that this is _not_ going to heal the hurts you suffered in any way. Despite what you think you want, I know there is a better way of dealing with this." 

Raven's eyes glowed. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" 

"I am Malchior of Noll, and my line has been sullied by the Dread Dragon. My honor allows me to do nothing less than redeem myself. That is why I travel the universe trying to do good. I'm trying to redeem my family name from being forever darkened by my brother's shadow." Malchior looked dead serious. "Even if you do not wish me to, I will stay here until this evil had been undone." 

"_Get the hell out of this tower!_" Raven yelled. Light bulbs around her exploded. 

"You are not angry at me lady Raven, but at what I remind you of. Look at my eyes. Are these the eyes that betrayed you?" 

Raven looked into the blank white expanses, and felt somewhat soothed. Although the markings around Mal's eyes were the same as the markings that had been on the image of Rorek- the image she associated with Malchior the dragon- the white could not be mistaken for the gray catlike eyes of the book. Mal was slightly shorter than the image of Malchior had been, though he had the same build. "Why do you wear armor so much like your grandfather's?" 

"To remind people that the line of Noll is a benevolent one, and that my brother is not representative of the whole family." 

"But you wear dark gray instead of black," Raven said, a bit irate. 

"Black is associated with the evils of my brother," he said flatly. 

Raven snapped, "How can we trust you are who you say you are, with a brother who you freely admit is so evil?" 

Malchior sighed. "You cannot. That is the worst part of my dilemma. No matter how hard I try to earn the trust of others, my name and my association with my brother will forever overshadow me." 

"So why are you even bothering with me?" Raven growled. "You don't have the best track record of getting people to trust you and it's not your brother I hate- _it's you_. Just leave here, and we'll all be much happier." She thrust the book at him again. 

'I cannot do that-" 

Raven had to struggle to keep her powers under control. 

"-until I have freed your friend from her stone bondage," Malchior finished. Raven's expression changed to one of total shock. 

"_What?_" Raven said. She was absolutely floored. 

Malchior gestured at the computer. "I've learned all about your friend Terra and how she was turned into a statue while tying to save your lives. I wish to help you revive her." 

_I don't want Terra revived!_ Raven's thoughts shouted. _She betrayed us and if she comes back Beastboy will_- her thoughts cut off. Why was she concerned with how Beastboy would react? _He paid no attention to me last time Terra was around_, she told herself. But why was that a problem? He was annoying. He constantly flirted with her and told her jokes and tried to cheer her up and help her cope with the problems in her life, that was all. Something in that line of thought made her do a mental double take. _Beastboy was- is- in love with Terra. It's only because she was turned to stone that he ever paid attention to me._

_Oh? He flirted with you before Terra ever showed up, _another little voice in her head pointed out. 

Mal had watched quietly as Raven's aura twisted with an emotional problem. "Have I said something wrong?" 

"No!" Raven said, entirely too quickly. Her aura flared up in nervousness. _If Beastboy loves Terra then- then freeing her would make him happy._ Raven frowned. She didn't care about making Beastboy happy, she had told Starfire so. She didn't want to free Terra. Terra's words to her had left wounds almost as deep as the wounds left by Malchior the Dragon. She had insinuated that the Titans had liked her better than Raven, and Raven had taken it to heart. Terra had been manipulated into it by Slade. Raven tried to convince herself that the control Slade had exerted over Terra was also hypnotic, that she really hadn't wanted to betray them, but somehow Raven wasn't sure. With Terra alive again, Raven was setting herself up for another emotional roller coaster. With everything that had gone on today she wasn't sure she could handle that. 

"You look worried," Malchior said. 

Raven looked at him impassively. "How can you tell that if you can't see?" 

"I see auras. Yours is twisting in such a way that I can tell you are worried." 

Raven suddenly felt more uncomfortable around Malchior than she did angry. "How could we reverse the effects?" She asked tentatively. 

"We would have to use a spell in the library," he gestured at the book. 

"Library?" Raven said, baffled. 

"Yes. The book acts as a doorway to a mystical library. I forgot, you weren't there while I was explaining this. That was before you flew down and wanted to kill me," Malchior said, with traces of amusement in his voice. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your fried Beastboy practically beat you to it. If your other friends hadn't interfered I would be broken and resting at the bottom of the river." Malchior rubbed his jaw, which, now that Raven was looking closely, did seem quiet a bit swollen. "Anyway, the library, presumably, carries all the knowledge from all of the sorcerers from the line of Noll from Rorek to the beginning of our line. I don't know for sure because I've never been there. It's supposed to be a dark world filled only with books." 

Raven knew what he was talking about instantly. This Library was where the dragon had taken her so she could learn spells. Then it hit her what he had said before that. Beastboy had attacked him, no doubt trying to protect her. That didn't disturb her though. Malchior's mannerisms had. Until that moment Mal had been almost Robin-like in his serious way of stating things, but then that humor- it was like the Malchior that the Dragon had presented her with. The one she had laughed at. The one she had loved. 

Malchior saw a rapid change in her aura. "I'm sorry, I just keep on saying the wrong things don't I?" He looked terribly chagrined. "Or am I saying the right things?" He asked curiously. "I mean, last time I had only shown up and you were raging at me. You're very clam right now." 

_That because I'm trying to sort through all the emotions you keep bringing up!_ Raven thought sharply, but said nothing. 

"Perhaps we should talk later. You probably need more rest, and I promise you I'll be here when you wake up." 

The computer screen exploded. Malchior threw his arms over his head to avoid debris. 

"Good lord!" He said. "_That_ was clearly the wrong thing to say." He plucked glass out of his hair using magic. The pieces tinkled to the floor. 

Raven couldn't control the surge of emotion that swept over her. Malchior could see her aura triple in brightness. Her powers reached out, but she tried to direct them in a nondestructive way and suddenly- 

There was two small boys, one with black hair, one with white. Besides the hair they looked almost identical. The older brother had eyes like ice, and the darker hair. He was much taller than the younger brother with the white hair, who's eyes were much darker, almost a midnight blue. They were alone in the world, but they were both very powerful for their age. The older brother was fearless, the younger idolized him. 

Ten years passed by in an eye blink. The older brother was well into his teens, the younger just hitting preadolescence. They were arguing. The older brother had just admitted to murdering their father. He wanted his brother to come with him on a quest to seek out the most powerful magics in the universe so that no one could harm them. He wanted to find their great (several times over) grandfather's book with all the spells they would ever need. The younger refused, recoiling from his brother like he was a venomous snake. He accused his brother of being a monster and (rightfully so) a murderer, then flew off as far and as fast as he could. 

The next time jump wasn't nearly so long. Both boys, though, were now wearing armor. The younger brother was clearly Malchior. The older, who was still much taller and much lankier had grown a goatee and pulled his hair back. His armor was silver and black. He looked deranged, and was smiling the whole time. Again he was trying to convince his brother to come with him. Again Malchior refused because he had murdered his father, and in his quest for power had harmed others. The older brother got angry. He made several violent motions. Malchior struck out with a spell against his brother eyes, trying to cripple him from learning more magic. The older brother protected himself, but the spell left a wound that would clearly leave a scar across his eyes. There was a sudden surge of fury in the older brother. He thrust his hand forward, fingers spread out wide, then balled them into a fist as if grabbing something and jerked his whole arm back. It was the last thing Malchior saw as the endless pain exploded in his eyes- 

Raven silently screamed, clawing at her eyes as young Malchior's scream invaded her mind. The older Malchior was gasping in mental pain, finally closing his thoughts to the dark young woman across from him. He collapsed to his knees and began sobbing. 

"I didn't know. I didn't know," he wept. "I'm so sorry. I sound, look, act- he was exactly like me- and I said the same exact thing he did. . ." 

Raven, recovering from her unexpected foray into the mind of the alien was stunned. While she had relived his most painful memories he had seen hers. He saw everything that had happened between herself and the dragon, and now she knew how he had been blinded so violently. She felt a wave of sorrow come over her, focusing on the young sorcerer as he cried for her. 

"He is a monster. You didn't know," Raven said, her voice surprisingly even despite the thousands of emotions she was feeling. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Malchior placed his head in his hands. 

"Is there nothing I can do?" He murmured. Then again. "Is there nothing I can do-?" 

Raven paused. She knelt down and looked him in the eyes. "Help me free Terra from her stony prison," she said quietly. A part of her ached at the thought of how Beast Boy would react. He would never ask her out to dinner again. Then again even if Terra remained a chunk of granite there was no reason he should ask Raven out again anyway. Not considering the way she had acted at dinner. Freeing Terra would be the only apology she could give him. 

Malchior nodded. "I will try," his head tilted up and Raven's heart stopped. Malchior didn't know it, but their noses were so close they were almost touching. He looked exactly like Malchior the dragon had, but backwards. When Malchior had taken his manlike form from the pages of the book, the only feature there was his eyes. Mal's eyes were not there, just white hollows, while the details of his body were. Raven's heart pounded. Malchior noticed a waver in her aura. He tuned out his second sight, making the world black. He reached out with his hands and found Raven's face. She jerked back in surprise. 

"I want to see you," he said quietly. "Please, I don't want anything more." 

Raven hesitated. "Okay," she said, feeling very awkward. Malchior's fingers traced the contours of her face with a feather-like touch. She shivered when he touched her eyelids and her lips. 

"The dragon did not tell you all lies," Malchior said. "You are beautiful. Outside and within. Your aura is so pure and beautiful- I have seen none that compare with it." 

Raven felt hot blush swell up in her cheeks. "I- I'm sorry about the way I acted." 

"It was understandable. I would have reacted as you did, though, being on the receiving end, I can't say I enjoyed it." 

Raven chuckled slightly, then blushed again. Malchior helped her to her feet. 

"In order to free your friend Terra, we are going to have to locate the proper spell in the library. However, I cannot read, so I am almost as useful in this situation as a net is at picking up sand. Books of magic are never written for the sightless," he touched Rorek's enchanted book, and it flipped open to a certain page, which had illustrated on it an elaborate door. Scrawled upon the door, in silver ink and alien script was a short phrase that radiated power. "The words on the door are the words of entry. You must recite them, then the door will open. To return simply chant the spell backwards. I'm afraid the spell only takes one person through the doorway. I cannot follow you." 

Raven could feel his deep regret. "How am I supposed to find what I need?" 

"There is supposed to be a librarian of sorts within the library," Malchior said. "I think that if you ask for help, he will appear." 

Raven nodded. Ten minutes ago she would have never done this. Now- well now she had seen the recesses of Mal's mind and she knew he wasn't going to hurt her. She touched the picture of the door and chanted the words on the paper. Almost before the last syllable was out she found herself in the same library she had visited with Malchior. The books were stacked up high, but they weren't swirling around like they had when the dragon had dragged her in there. 

"I had hoped you would come." 

Raven spun around, ready to strike out at the speaker, but he held up one hand. The other held a book. Raven looked him over and pulled her hood down off her head. "You're-" 

"Rorek of Noll, the man who defeated the Dread Dragon Malchior," He gave Raven a half-bow. "Welcome to my library, fair lady." He frowned. "I daresay this visit will be more pleasant than your last ones were." He dusted off the cover of the book he was holding. "I must apologize. If I had been paying more attention I might have been able to spare you a lot of pain. Malchior is the only other who can visit the library without the book itself, and he visits so often I had stopped keeping track of him. I didn't realize he had been bringing a visitor in until he let himself out. You can rest assured that I will monitor all activity in my library from now on." 

Raven looked around. "So you live eternally?" 

"Only in this place. My physical body is long since gone, but a part of my mind is here," he gestured. "All of these books are a part of me." 

"What is that one?" Raven asked, pointing to the book he was holding. "It looks exactly like the book on the outside." 

Rorek laughed. "Yes, I feel more comfortable with it looking that way. I carried my enchanted book until the day I died. Even now I appear to carry it. No, this book I'm going to particularly guard form Malchior from now on. It is a running history of the line of Noll, describing in details the exploits, personalities, appearance, and powers of all of the children of Noll. This is what he used to create the perfect man to lure you into his trap." Rorek flipped absentmindedly through the pages of the book. "Malchior perfectly imitated Mal, hoping that even if he didn't succeed in escaping he would cause more problems for Mal. He knew that the charm would activate if he ever did get free. He wanted you to destroy Mal because he much prefers Rorek." 

Raven was suddenly confused. "He much prefers you?" 

Rorek realized his mistake. "Malchior's brother is Rorek of Noll IV. More commonly know as Rorek the Black." 

"He's named after you, " Raven said, suddenly comprehending. 

"Yes. Quite ironic isn't it? The 'evil' brother is named after me and the good brother is named after Malchior. But back to business" Rorek's voice was almost the same as Mal's but deeper. He walked into the center of the circle of books instead of hanging on the edges. "So, you want to restore your friend's true form?" He waved his hand and a book came flying out of the recesses of the library. "There. That is the book you'll need." The book hovered in front of Raven and opened itself to a certain page. "You may spend as much time reading it as you need. This library never closes, but you can't take books out." 

"Thank you," Raven said, looking over the spell. It seemed simple enough. She spent quite some time memorizing it. Rorek disappeared for the time being, toting the history of the line of Noll with him. 

Several hours later and out of nowhere Rorek said "You must go, now. You are needed urgently." 

Raven looked at him strangely but did not argue. Within seconds she was out of the book. Malchior looked terribly worried. She realized that she had materialized in the common room, and there was a scene playing on the TV. Speedy was shouting. "We can't hold off this psycho for long! He took out the twins in no time flat- we can't stop him Robin!" 

"What's going on?" Raven demanded. 

"Malchior's brother decided to take out his frustrations on Titans East," Cyborg informed her. 

Robin shook his head. "It's a ploy to lure us away from this tower and the book as well. We can't not give help to the other Titans, but we can't leave the tower here unguarded and Jump City unprotected." Robin tuned to face his companions. "Star, Cy, you're with me. We're heading East for as long as we're needed. Raven, Beastboy, your job is to guard the tower here." 

"I will help," Malchior said firmly. "I will make sure my brother does not get his hands on the book." 

"Then you'll stay here too. That makes it even," Robin nodded. "To the T-jet!" He said. He, Starfire and Cyborg charged off. 

Raven and Beastboy stared at the transmission from Titans East until the transmission cut off. Malchior's brother never showed up on the screen, but they saw black jets of light striking out at the members of Titans East. Raven couldn't believe the amount of power Rorek the Black was displaying. Beastboy saw the worry on her face and reached out to take her hand. Raven felt his hand brush up against hers and jumped away nervously. Beastboy, chagrined, watched as she backed away and stood next to Malchior. 

The blind sorcerer was staring where the transmission had been playing moments before. His face was etched with worry. He could not see the damage his brother was causing but if he reached out with his mind he could feel it. There was a frenzy in Rorek's actions that had never been there before. If Malchior had thought his brother was dangerous before, he now knew that his brother was deadly. 

He prayed for the safety of his new hosts, knowing there was nothing more he could do. 

------------------- 

A/N: Enter Rorek! I'm very proud of Rorek. I think he's going to surprise and startle the whole lot of you. His dialogue is going to be so, so much fun to write! 

Ahem Anyway, Next chapter, you get: 1) One hell of a confused love triangle, which turns into a love square. 2) The Return of Terra! 3) To meet Rorek the Black face to face. How long can you keep your face in a maniacal grin? This guy practices. 4) The reason why this story is called 'Once Broken, Twice Shattered'. 5) One hell of a problem that threatens to destroy the titans from inside out! And possibly the Titans in some civilian clothes for once. Uniform 24-7 is so boring. 

The total story is all ready longer than any of me XME: S5 episodes and I haven't finished it yet. Oops. Guess I was wrong when I averaged out how long this would turn out to be. 


	3. Assaulted

Disclaimer: Still don't own the Teen Titans. If I _did_ the story lines in the show would be even _more_ interesting. . . God do I love angst.__

__

_Once Broken, Twice Shattered. . ._

Part Three: Assaulted

Titans East had been under siege for a day and a half when Raven decided to visit the library again. When she entered Rorek greeted her with his eyes filled with apologies. He said nothing, though, he just gestured and handed her the book she had been reading the last time she was there, then vanished. 

Raven floated in the lotus position, flipping to the right page. She ran her finger delicately over the lines, checking her memorization of the spell. She had collected the few spell ingredients she needed over the past day. _If Rorek the Black is really as powerful as he seems, then we're going to need all the help we can get. That **includes** Terra_, she reasoned. When she was satisfied that she knew what she was doing, Raven set the book down in the air, where it floated back away into place. She left the library with the reverse incantation and stepped back into her room in the real world. 

She turned around and nearly smacked straight into Malchior. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Your aura disappeared into the aura of the book," he said sheepishly. "I was worried." 

Raven couldn't quite muster up the usual irritation she had when people entered her room without permission. Malchior had hardly slept since Robin, Starfire and Cyborg had left the tower. He was wearing out the carpet in the common room by pacing. "You're worrying too much. Robin and the others will be fine." 

Malchior shook his head furiously. "My brother should have been named Malchior, because his mind is much like that of the Dragon's. He is planning something vile and I cannot begin to think what. He must know that the book is here. He is much faster than he has been. Normally he attacks his enemies outright, not their allies first! Something is very, very wrong!" Raven had know Mal for a very short amount of time, but she noticed that when he was worried he pulled the gray cloth higher up around his face to hide his outward expression. Right now it was pulled up so high it rested just underneath his sightless eyes. 

The walked out of Raven's room, the door sliding shut behind them. They slowly began walking down to the common room. Malchior kept on mumbling things and cursing himself under his breath. "I should be there. My brother is going to decimate them." 

Raven nervously pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, though it promptly escaped again. "I'm sure the Titans will be able to handle it," she said quietly. It looked like he was staring at her, though that really was impossible. She reached out and brushed some of his ruffled hair out of his face. Malchior suddenly looked very surprised and jerked back, the cloth falling back down around his neck. "Sorry," Raven said quickly, pulling her hood over her face. 

"No, it's my fault. I can never tell when another person is about to touch me. When I feel a touch it, well, it makes me very nervous. Especially when it's coming from such a beautiful maiden," he added. 

Raven blushed ever so slightly. Beastboy, passing by, saw the two of them near one another and hid where he could see what was going on, but not be seen. Raven was blushing, that was a rare sight. Beastboy felt slightly jealous. He knew he shouldn't be. If Raven was happy, he should be happy for her. 

"Mal," she said quietly, "everything is going to turn out okay." Her heart was pounding in her ears. _Control your emotions_, she ordered herself. Her voice returned to its normal tone. "Robin is a very capable leader and Starfire and Cyborg are forces to be reckoned with." 

"You do not know my brother as well as I know your friends," Malchior said. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven sounded insulted. 

"Merely that my ability to read auras gives me a very clear perspective on how powerful an individual is. My brother's dark aura _consumes_ auras around him. Your friends are all very strong, but I fear that even together my brother will annihilate them." Malchior sighed. "The only one with an aura that compares to his is you." 

Raven was trying to fight her rising feelings. There was fear for her friends and a surging infatuation with Mal. When she had glimpsed his mind she had felt a connection with him. His childhood and life had been so hard, yet he endured it as best he could. Raven shifted slightly, moving closer towards the young alien sorcerer. He was what she had fallen in love with in Malchior the Dragon, minus the evil agenda. 

Beastboy couldn't stand it. He had to get closer. Transforming into a housefly, he flew up to the ceiling and landed on it. He didn't realize that Mal could still see him. No matter his physical size, his aura stayed the same size. Malchior shifted nervously. He could feel that Beastboy was anticipating something, and that he didn't quite want it to happen. Raven, on the other hand, was weighing her feelings. Malchior didn't want to interfere with their relationship, but from what he had seen in Raven's mind Beastboy was involved- and would be involved when she woke- with the girl Terra. The young sorcerer was baffled though. He was so used to people attacking him or rejecting him because of his brother and his name, Raven's acceptance when she realized he wasn't the Dragon caused a new feeling in him. 

"Raven," he said before he realized it, "thank you. Besides your earlier efforts to kill me, you've been nothing but a most wonderful host." He reached out and found her hand very awkwardly, then kissed it gently. 

The light right next to Beastboy exploded in a surge of black power. "Yahhhhhh!" Beastboy shouted as he turned into his normal form and fell to the ground. Malchior jumped back instinctively, and Beastboy crashed headlong into Raven. 

"BEASTBOY!" Raven roared. Beastboy's head was buried between her breasts. He knew this was the single most unsafe place to be in the world, but he couldn't look up. He was too afraid that he would see four red eyes looking down at him. Suddenly Beastboy felt himself being lifted up and flung down the hallway. He crashed into a wall, upside-down, and found himself looking up at Raven. Black fire surrounded her. 

"Heh, heh. Hey Rae. 'Sup?" Beastboy asked. 

Raven reached down and hauled him up onto his feet. "Were you _spying _on me?" 

"No!" Beastboy waved his hands frantically. "I was just taking a nap!" 

"As a fly? _Above my head_?" Raven shouted. The fire surged around her menacingly. 

"Well you weren't there when I went to sleep!" Beastboy protested. 

"I swear Beastboy, if I _ever _find you spying on me _again_-" Raven threatened. 

Beastboy yelped, "You won't! Ever! I promise!" 

Raven dropped him, fury still raging in her eyes. Malchior had shrunk back against the wall, shielding his eyes. When she let her emotions loose in the slightest Raven's aura trebled in brightness with each passing second. He approached her suddenly. "He speaks the truth," Malchior lied. "I felt his aura on the ceiling before we were standing there. I'm sorry I didn't mention it." 

Raven's temper dissipated for the most part, but she still sounded frustrated. "Why can't you sleep like a normal person Beastboy?" She turned around and stalked off to meditate. 

Beastboy stared at Malchior. "Dude, you totally covered for me. Why?" 

Malchior blinked. "Why not?" 

Now Beastboy blinked. "Uh. . . I don't know." 

Malchior smiled kindly at him. Beastboy was suddenly aware of how much shorter than Malchior he was. Malchior's pale skin was a lot like Raven's, and far from Beastboy's bright green. His ears were rounded, his hair long, and Beastboy's were exactly the opposite. If Malchior was what Raven was attracted to- well then Beastboy realized he wasn't it. 

"I'd suggest you avoid Raven for a few hours," Malchior said gently. "She's still quiet mad." 

"Well, considering how I landed. . ." 

Malchior looked confused. He hadn't seen it. 

"Never mind," Beastboy said. "I'm gonna go work out for a while." He headed towards the workout center, turning back only once to watch as Malchior headed after Raven. _It's not fair! I was here first! _ He thought. _Oh, and that doesn't sound completely childish. Let's see Beastboy, can you do anything else to make yourself unattractive?_ He suddenly turned into a large warty toad and began hopping down the hallway. _Yeah, that's about it though._

------------------ 

Raven was on the roof meditating when Malchior found her. He sat in the lotus position on the roof of the tower, then levitated using his power. He was facing Raven, and her aura was even more stunning now than it had been before. He shut out his second sight and closed his eyes in order to concentrate. 

They sat like that for a long time, both finding a peaceful center to their chaotic lives. Raven was the first to break in her trance, letting one foot touch the ground, then the other. She looked at Malchior, trying to sort out her thoughts. She had known him for a very short time, but she felt like he had known him much longer. It was a combination of being in his mind and the way Malchior the Dragon had presented himself that caused that feeling. Raven was going to head inside, then turned back around. "Mal?" She said quickly, her emotions surging up inside her. 

Malchior opened his eyes. "Yes Raven?" He brought back his second sight, and noticed that she had moved. She was now approaching him, and he set both feet on the ground. 

He felt a weight around his shoulders, then her lips pressed against his. Malchior was initially shocked, and frankly Raven was too, but he slowly folded his arms around her and went along with the kiss. Then suddenly he broke off. 

"My beautiful Raven, we are deceiving ourselves," he said quietly. "You are not in love with me, but something you think I am. I- I am embracing your soul, but it is not the same." 

Raven felt her heart plummet in her chest. "Malchior, I thought-" hurt swelled up in her, then anger. She had to fight it back down! 

Malchior still held her. "Raven, I cannot love you the way you want. If I do Rorek will use it to his advantage. He will destroy you, and in doing so he will harm me." His hand found it's way to her face, and wiped away the tears he felt by her eyes. "Sweet Raven," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "I wish you nothing but happiness, but I cannot allow myself to be the source for your own sake." 

Raven felt her anger rage violently, but not against Malchior. It wanted to rip from her, fly to Titans East and crush Rorek the Black. She trembled in Malchior's arms, trying to control herself. Inside the tower things were shaking all over. The workout center, with Beastboy in it, however, was strangely exempt to these Tower-specific quakes. 

Malchior felt the swell in her emotions, and held her closer. He mentally swore. This was his fault! "Raven, listen to me. There is another here that loves you as I do, he is-" 

"Don't," Raven said, pushing him back. "Don't try to make me fall in love with Robin, or Cyborg, or Beastboy. Just forget it." She had gone out on a limb, and the limb had snapped. This is what she got for trying to show a little emotion. 

Malchior could say nothing. He nodded slowly, and Raven turned away from him. He wanted desperately to reach out and hold her, but his bumbling blindness would surely make things worse. Ashamed, Malchior pulled the gray cloth up around his mouth and nose. 

Feeling dead inside, Raven pulled her cloak as far around her as she could. "Lets go free Terra," she said. "I'll get the ingredients. You stay here." Raven melted into a black pool and vanished. 

Malchior felt like he had been on the roof for an eternity when Raven returned. No words passed between them. Raven flew off the top of the tower, and Malchior followed closely behind. The landed almost together and then began heading down into the subterranean cavern that held the sixth Titan. 

Malchior surprised Raven when he pointed at Terra's statue and said, "There's someone there." 

"That's Terra," she said. "You must be seeing her aura." 

Malchior nodded. "It is muted, but if she is trapped in a stone sleep it makes sense." 

Opening a large cloth sack she had brought with her Raven spread out the spell ingredients. Malchior could tell what they were by the way they glowed, and offered his help. Raven accepted graciously telling him what needed to be mixed together. The talked to each other with forced tones, neither one of them wanting to speak upon the previous events just yet. 

When the setup had been completed, Raven made the hand motions that she had practiced in the library. "Ixsabar collequium normisexbar, nex!" Raven shouted. Her words echoed in the chamber. "Helroelium, diserium, gertesian norrix rex!" 

A bright yellow light gleamed around the stone and small cracks appeared on the surface of Terra's statue. The statue continued to glow. Malchior looked confused. 

"Her aura has only brightened slightly," he said. 

Raven nodded. "The spell takes some time to fully dispel the stone sleep. We're going to be here for a while." She wrapped up the leftover spell ingredients, crossed her legs and began to meditate. "Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos," She repeated over and over. Malchior closed his second sight and meditated with her, but instead of speaking he simply focused on his breathing. Things between him and Raven were strained at the moment, but perhaps after Terra had been freed some of the tension would alleviate. 

------------------ 

Beastboy had been playing video games for a few hours when the transmission cut through his game. "Agh!" He yelled, falling off of the edge of the couch where he had been sitting. "What the hell is that?" 

"Very funny Beastboy!" 

Beastboy poked his head up and looked at the battered image in front of him "ROBIN? Is that mass of pounded meat _your face_?" 

The leader of the teen titans had certainly seen better days. One eye was swollen shut, the other was only able to squint. His lower lip was swollen and bleeding and his face was scratched up. He hadn't even looked this bad when he thought Slade was attacking him, but was actually inflicting the damage himself. "Yes Beastboy, it's me. If you think I look bad, you should see the others." 

"Oh my god! Are they okay?" 

"Cyborg had to do a total rebooting of his system and download his backup memory. Now he has to craft himself a new torso." 

Beastboy's eyes widened. "What about Star?" 

Robin looked furious at himself. "She took such a pounding that she can't move. Her powers are totally drained. Beastboy, this Rorek the Black character could have killed us all, but he didn't. He wanted to incapacitate us." 

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" 

"It _means_," Cyborg's voice came from in the background, "that he didn't want us able to help you guys!" 

"We think Rorek is heading to your location," Robin said. "You need to get Malchior and Raven and prepare for his assault!" 

Beastboy threw a quick salute. "Aye, aye!" He said. He was not looking forward to fighting a madman that could beat his friends senseless, but it couldn't be helped. He skidded to a halt in front of Raven's door. He pounded on her door. "Yo Raven! We've gotta go!" He pounded on the door. "RAVEN!" He shouted. Finally he turned into a gorilla and pounded on the door. It fell inwards. 

The room was totally empty. "What- I could have sworn I saw her go in here!" Beastboy looked around. "I've gotta find her." He turned into a small bird and began flying all over the tower. His search was fruitless however, and not necessary. Rorek the Black was not interested in Titans Tower at the moment. 

---------------- 

Malchior's eyes snapped open and he lurched to his feet. He and Raven had been meditating for the better part of an hour and he had shut out his second sight the whole time. He now realized what a mistake that was. "Raven! He is here!" He grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet. 

"What?" Raven said totally baffled. "Who is here?" 

"_Rorek_!" Malchior exploded fearfully. Raven's eyes widened in horror. 

"Here?" She choked out. What had happened to her friends who went to help Titan's East? What had happened to Beastboy, all alone in the tower? Had Rorek been there too? 

"Yes! You must go!" Malchior shoved her towards the deeper recesses of the cavern. 

"But he'll kill you!" Raven protested. 

"This day of reckoning between my brother and I was inevitable, and I have delayed its coming many times. I cannot do so any longer," he said. "But you-" He gestured at her and suddenly Raven found herself flying deeper into to caverns against her own will. 

"Malchior!" She shouted helplessly. She heard the sounds of an epic battle, then finally a scream of agony. "No!" She said throatily. When Malchior's spell dropped her she began flying back towards Terra's statue. Suddenly the tall figure of a man blocked her way. He was easily as tall as Cyborg, but he was thin and muscular. Raven stopped short in midair. 

"So we meet at last," Rorek the Black said, his eyes blazing. "I've heard about you in my travels, Daughter of Trigon." He moved with an eerie grace. "I almost thought you were a myth." He bowed to her. "I would introduce myself, but you must already know me." 

Raven edged back from him. "Your Malchior's brother, Rorek." 

Rorek blinked, then his grin widened. "Well, that's a new take on it. It almost sounds more sinister than Rorek the Black, considering the origin of Mal's name. Yes, I'm the elder of the brother Noll, Rorek the IV." His movements were highly theatrical. Raven tensed, ready to strike whenever she got a chance. Rorek suddenly swooped her hand up and placed his lips upon it. "You are an exotically beautiful creature. I never doubted you would be." Raven snatched her hand away. Even this did not stop Rorek from grinning. "And such _spirit_!" 

Raven got the feeling that something was very wrong. Rorek was toying with her. "What do you want?" 

"Want, want, want. Everybody always asks me what I want," he bent over so that his face was at the level of hers. "They assume that because I am evil, I must 'want' something," he accented the quotation marks with his fingers. He drew back up to his full height. "Maybe I don't want anything at all. Maybe I was just visiting this planet to enjoy the scenery and to catch up with _darling_ little Mal." 

"You killed him," Raven choked out. 

"Me? Kill Mal? Ridiculous. That would spoil all the fun of chasing him from planet to planet and watching him panic as I approach," Rorek leaned against the rocky wall. "And no, I didn't kill your miserable little friends. I only broke them a little." 

"If you don't want anything, then why are you talking to me?" Raven asked. 

Her jerked up off of the cave wall. "Aha! Now you ask a question with an _interesting_ answer!" He vanished for a moment, then appeared behind her and whispered into her ear, "I have heard that you are the most powerful woman in all of the universe, yet you hide most of that power for fear of the evil that comes with it." Raven wanted to twist away from him but his hands locked onto her shoulders. "Embrace that evil Daughter of Trigon. Embracing it will help you cast off the bonds that your father holds upon you! You will have all the power you desire, and no one will stand in your way!" 

Raven used her powers to free herself from Rorek. She stared at him, wide eyed in horror. Embrace her demonic nature? That would deliver her right into her father's hands. "The forces of evil never free those in their grasp!" 

"Are you so sure?" Rorek said, his grin spreading. Raven felt her stomach turn and twist with fear. "Can't you feel it Raven? The sheer power that I have? I could destroy you without batting an eyelash because of all the dark power that I have. Yet I am still in control. There is no demon possessing my body, no evil puppeteer pulling my strings." He wrapped his hand around Raven's chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. 

They sent a wave of cold fear down her spine. His eyes looked exactly like the eyes of Rorek in the book. They were the eyes that haunted her in her sleep. The eyes that had held her spellbound. They were clear, though. There was no other force within Rorek the Black but Rorek himself. Raven realized her situation, put her hands out in front of her and screamed "_AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!_" 

Raven had aimed to throw Rorek miles away, but after skidding only a few feet back Rorek broke free of her power. Raven had never known anyone able to do that before. Rorek's grin turned into a furious scowl, and he clenched his fist. Raven felt her arms pinned to her sides. Rorek used his other hand to gain power over her cloak. He twirled his finger in the air and the cloak wrapped around her, tying her neatly and covering her mouth. Then Rorek's grin returned. "You are stronger than I initially thought, even without tapping into your true power. Why don't you follow me for a while?" he began walking along, and Raven found herself floating behind him unwillingly. "I'm going to show you something." 

He strolled casually along, whistling the whole way. Raven was getting more frightened by the minute. His power didn't seem to have any limits. He had been battling the other Titans for almost two days, he had fought his brother, and she had lashed out at him, and yet there wasn't a scratch on him. Now he was dragging her along like a rag doll, showing no sign of strain. Where did his power end? They stood in the natural doorway to the chamber Terra's statue was in. The cracks on the statue had multiplied ferociously and she looked like she was going to be free any moment. Was Rorek going to kill her? 

Rorek instead gestured to the ground. There Raven saw Malchior, laying on the ground. His sightless eyes were staring straight up. His body was rigid, but his chest moved as he breathed in and out. Rorek turned to her. "You're probably wondering why I showed this to you." Raven said nothing, but he was correct in his assumption. "Simply this: I am not a liar. I told you that I left my brother alive, and here he is." He reached down and patted Malchior's head, fondly ruffling his hair. "Poor little naive Malchior," he said. Then he stretched. "But back to you, my half-demon beauty." 

Raven struggled violently. She thrashed within the cloak that bound her. _Half -demon beauty?!_ She raged. _I will not be called that!_

"What? You don't like being called a half-demon? Malchior said, almost reading her thoughts. "That's what you are and you know it. Until you are rid of your father you will be bound up in that old 'eternal struggle between good and evil'." He walked away waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss the idea. Then he whipped around. "But you have the potential to be so much more. You can be like me. I broke free of the restraints my father's blood imposed upon me. I made it part of my very being, then I was able to destroy him." He walked back up to Raven. "You can do the same. I can help you." He gestured, and her cloak released her. Raven found her arms free once again. "The question is, will you allow me? Choose wisely sweet Raven. Much rests on your answer." 

Raven looked at Malchior and Terra. Chips were beginning to fall off or Terra's stone form, the final phase of the spell was starting. Malchior, on the other hand, looked comatose. Rorek's expression showed growing impatience. Raven clenched her fists. "You hurt my friends, you insult me, and you wish me to embrace a part of my nature that I have spent _my entire life_ fighting!" Raven shouted. "I will never accept anything someone like _you_ has to offer me! _Azarath metrion zinthos!_" Raven's power struck out at Rorek again and again, but he easily blocked the assault. 

Rorek's grin became a thin pressed line. "I offered you exactly what you want, to be free of your father, and yet you refuse my help and spit in my face. My dear Raven, you know that even now your mind is suffering worse ills than your body. Because of what you are your mind, by nature, is broken." 

The look in his eyes and the return of his grin froze Raven to the spot. How did he know what her mind was like? How did he know that her emotions were splintered pieces of her personality? Her fastened one of his hands around her neck. Raven grabbed his hand with both of hers, even reached out with her powers, but she could not break his grip. He was not trying to strangle her, but he was denying her the normal amounts of air. Her vision was blurry and she focused her powers on ripping chunks of rock and metal out of the cavern walls and trying to smash them into Rorek. He only had to slightly flick his head in the direction of the oncoming object and it flew away harmlessly. 

"My people make all sorts of silly phrases to teach children what they should and should not do with their mystical powers. They particularly pound in what you shouldn't do to another person's mind. Mental assault has a very specific warning attached with it." He cleared his throat. "Once broken, twice shattered, three times destroyed." Raven's eyes could not widen any more with fear. "It describes what happens to a person's mind when attacked by a full mental battering of the highest order. Your mind is broken- as if it has all ready been attacked once." 

Raven threw everything she had into struggling against Rorek. Her valiant efforts were not as strong as they could be, due to the partial deprivation of oxygen. Rorek's eyes widened with a sort of sadistic joy. 

"Oh, yes, you realize now what is happening. If you won't agree to let me help you achieve your full potential then I am going to have to _force_ you into it." He held her up higher, so that her feet no longer touched the ground. "This is really for your own good." 

He released her but she hung in the air. She stayed there for only a moment, but it seemed like an eternity. Rorek's eyes locked with hers as he pulled back his arms then thrust them forward in a pushing motion. Raven threw a shield up around herself but it shattered. As the mental barrage hit her she screamed in purest agony as her soul and her mind were tugged in every direction at once. 

-------------------- 

"Where the heck is she?" Beastboy yelled kicking the bedpost of Raven's bed. He had returned to her room after covering every inch of Titan's Tower and seeing no sign that Raven was there. He had even managed to figure out how to work the Tower-wide intercom system and yelled at Raven for twenty minutes. Beastboy glanced at the hand mirror on Raven's dresser. He was tempted to see if he could use it to locate Raven, but he knew better than to touch it- or anything else in Raven's room for that matter. Everything there was dangerous unless you knew how to use it. Beastboy's eyes fell on the chest in the far corner of the room. He walked over to it and opened it. There sat the magic book with Malchior the Dragon trapped inside. Shutting the chest, Beastboy made his way to the door. 

The loud echo like scream that filled the room stopped him dead in his tracks. "Raven?!" He yelled frantically, recognizing his teammate's voice. "Raven where are yo-" 

He was about to finish his question when the hand mirror on the dresser exploded. He didn't have time to transform, only to throw his arms up in defense. The pieces flew around the room 

"I didn't even touch it!" Beastboy shouted at no one. The scream faded into a pained moan, then a whimper, then weeping. 

-------------------- 

What was-? Where was-? No! No! Raven couldn't order her thoughts at all. Her emotions tormented her, all rushing in at once to fill her. Raven screamed again, but this time her scream carried power. The whole cavern around her began to shake, engulfed in her shadowy power. Her power expanded through the bedrock of the entire city, creating an earthquake like there hadn't been in years. Rorek the Black laughed as the cavern began to shake around him. Raven tried to throw herself at him, to choke him with her bare hands while she could still function, but the falling stones separated the two opponents. Rorek vanished behind a huge boulder and Raven looked up to see the ceiling coming to meet her. 

-------------------- 

"What is going on?!" Beastboy yelled as the tower began to shake. He looked around him. The mirror, Raven's absence, that scream, this sudden earthquake. The pieces suddenly began to fit. "Oh god! Raven! That mirror represents her mind _and it exploded_!" Beastboy practically dove out of the window, his eyes focused on his communicator. He turned into a hawk and held the device in his claws, glancing down every so often so that he could trace the little red dot that was his teammate. 

When he got to the location, Beastboy's feeling of dread worsened. It was Terra's cave. The tremors had stopped for the most part, but that only made Beastboy more worried. He turned into a mouse and scurried down the tunnel quickly avoiding a huge amount of new debris. 

The cavern that held Terra's statue was an absolute wreck. If he had been human Beastboy wouldn't have been able to find much room to walk towards where Terra's form once stood. He could see only shattered pieces of stone where the sixth titan used to rest. "Terra," he whispered. He had promised to find a cure for her, and now she was gone. 

There was someone else that needed his help now. 

"Raven!" He shouted. "Raaaaaaaaaaaaven!" 

"Beastboy?!" Came a frantic cry. He recognized the voice instantly. It wasn't Raven's but- 

"Terra?!" Beastboy shouted in shock. Some of the rocks began glowing yellow and shifted. Terra was wearing a pretty beaten up robe of some sort in a shade of gray. Leaning heavily on her was the gasping Malchior. "What the heck happened?" 

Terra shook her head, "I don't know. All I remember is waking up, totally naked and there was Raven, going absolutely ballistic! I had to do everything I could to make sure me and alien boy here weren't crushed. After that he made his scarfy thing into this for me," she gestured at her outfit. "Beastboy, I've never, ever seen Raven that insane before!" 

Beastboy's heart raced. "Do you have any idea where she is?" 

Terra pointed. "She was over there when last I saw her, but you shouldn't go over there! She nearly killed both of us when we tried to approach her!" 

Beastboy ignored her warning and rushed over to where Terra was pointing. He couldn't see any sign of Raven at all. "Raven, Raven!" He shouted. Terra came over and began helping him search, removing rocks. Malchior, recovering from his brother's beating, was finally able to regain his second sight. 

"Beastboy!" Malchior pointed. "There! I see her aura!" The aura was warped and folded, and there was something severely wrong with it, but it was Raven's nonetheless. 

Beastboy followed Malchior's directions and saw nothing. He was about to say as much to the alien sorcerer when Terra gasped. 

"Oh no! On no!" She totally forgot her powers and scraped at some smaller rocks by hand. Once she had swept the dirt away Beastboy could see why Terra had reacted the way she did. 

"God, please no!" Beastboy moaned. 

There was a corner of Raven's cloak visible and it was drenched in blood. 

------------------------- 

A/N: I have nothing to say but: Muwahahahaha! 


	4. Just a small problem

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Doubtful I ever will. Teen Titans are owned by DC. 

_Once Broken, Twice Shattered_

__Part Four: "Just a small problem. . ." 

Raven could feel things moving around her. Her powers were shifting a massive amount of stone away from her. They also loomed over her in the form of a raven, acting like a protective shield. Raven propped herself up on one arm, and put her other hand to her head. She couldn't think straight. Her emotions were shifting like lightning. She was overwhelmingly happy to be alive, furiously mad at Rorek the black, terrified for her life should the walls around her fall, trying to calmly think of a way out of the cavern. _Stop! Stop!_ She thought. 

She tried to get to her feet, but gasped out in pain. Her right leg was bleeding profusely, and Raven was horrified to see bone protruding from her skin. _Oh god. Oh god._

Panic took over, and Raven couldn't think sensibly to get herself out of the situation. _I'm going to bleed to death. Terra must have been crushed, Malchior's dead too for sure, and I'm going to bleed to death and no one will know. What am I supposed to do? _

---- 

Terra was moving rocks faster than she ever had in her life, and Beastboy had turned into a large ape to pry out the stones she hadn't gotten to yet. 

"Beastboy, she can't be dead. I- I never got to apologize to her for- for the things I did- The stuff I said-" Terra whimpered. 

"She's not dead!" Beastboy said loudly, shifting back into his normal form for a moment. "Raven can't be dead." 

Malchior shakily stood up on his own. "She's frightened, powerfully frightened, but she's still alive." He began gesturing at the rocks. Unstable areas melded into solid sheets of rock which Terra could safely remove. 

Beastboy picked up the piece of cloak they had found. It stained his hands with Raven's blood. If he had been there, he might have been able to help. What was Raven doing here with Malchior anyway? _Terra. . . Raven and Malchior freed Terra, but why would Raven do that? She **hates** Terra._ He clenched the little piece of cloth in his hands, the ramifications hitting him. _Did she do this for **me**?_

"Beastboy!" Terra shouted. "I found her!" 

Beastboy threw the piece of cloak down and darted over. Terra moved one final large rock, revealing the dark cave that Raven's powers had formed around her. Raven was struggling to sit up, but she was slipping in a growing pool of blood. In the darkness of the chamber he cloak looked almost gray. 

"Raven!" Beastboy shouted. Raven, startled, jerked back, yelping as pain shot through her leg. 

"B- Beastboy?" She whimpered. She was shivering in fear. "Terra? Malchior?" Suddenly her face broke into a huge grin. Beastboy blinked in shock as Raven's cloak turned a brilliant shade of pink. "You're all right!" She threw her arms around Beastboy, then yelped again as a spasm of pain shot through her leg. Her cloak shifted back into a gray color and she began weeping. "I was so scared." 

"Beeeeeastboy?" Terra said, "Since when was Raven a chameleon?" 

Malchior placed his hands on Raven's broken leg, at it began to heal slowly. "Her aura is changing minute by minute. It's unlike anything I have ever seen." 

Beastboy couldn't speak for shock. He'd seen the pink and gray Raven's only once before- inside Raven's mirror. "Raven? What happened?" 

"Rorek came," suddenly Raven's cloak began mixing red and gray. "He attacked my mind. I still-" he cloak stabilized into the gray color once more, "-I still can't think properly. My mind is so scrambled." 

Beastboy cradled her as Malchior healed her leg. Terra was a little jealous, but it faded when she saw the pain Raven was in. 

"Hey Raven? When did you get a mood cloak?" Terra asked curiously. 

The shade of gray deepened drastically. Raven looked horrified. "Mood cloak?" She looked down at her cloak and saw the color change. The gray deepened even more, until it was just a few shades lighter than black. "No. No!" The rocks that were held up by her power began to fall. Terra directed them away from her and her companions. 

Beastboy questioned his teammate, "Raven? What's going on? What did he do to you?" 

Raven's cloak turned a deadly looking red and her eyes glowed. "He mentally _raped _ me! He attacked every memory, every nook and cranny of my mind! Once I find him I'll _kill _him!" 

Terra backed away, worried about how Raven would react to her. Raven noticed the movement and her head swiveled to face Terra. The blonde froze. Raven looked like she was ready to reach out and snap Terra's neck. Thinking on her feet, Terra spit out, "Hey, Raven. . . Thanks for getting me out of that block of stone." 

Raven closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Her cloak faded to blue. "What happened to Robin and the others? Are they okay?" 

"Battered, but alive," the changeling informed her. 

_Rorek didn't lie_, Raven thought. Her cloak changed to a yellow color. _What exactly does he want? He must want **something. . .** _

"Raven? This color change thing is really getting kinda freaky," Beastboy said, concerned. "Does it have anything to do with your mirror exploding?" 

"_Exploding?_" Raven said. "Oh, damn." _I was going to use it to sort everything out! Now what?_ He cloak shifted back to gray. "Robin's gonna kick me out of the tower," she whimpered. "I'm going to be too dangerous! I'm a half demon, just like Rorek said. . . And I can't deny it any longer." 

Terra gave Beastboy a funny look. She pointed at Raven and mouthed 'She's lost her mind!' Malchior finished healing Raven's leg and Beastboy helped her to her feet. For a second her cloak looked purple, but it settled back to blue. Her head ached like there was no tomorrow. 

"I need to lie down," she said, suddenly tired. 

"We have to get you back to the tower first," Beastboy advised her. 

Malchior stood. "I can carry you," he said to Raven, holding out his arms. "Rest Raven," he said, waving his hand in front of her face. Her eyelids drooped, and Malchior scooped her into his arms, shifting them as he felt the proper places to give her support. 

"What'd you do?" Beastboy said suspiciously. 

"I simply made her sleep." 

Beastboy looked at Malchior's face. The young sorcerer was unable to hide his troubled frown. "What did he do to her?" 

"Something that very few can do, and something that we are taught not to resort to unless we are in a dire situation," Malchior said quietly. "Rorek has splintered her mind. Most likely she will shift from extreme to extreme until finally she is able to sort out her thoughts once more, or she dies of exhaustion." 

"Dies?! Who the heck is this Rorek guy that he can do that to Raven?" Terra shouted. Her focus then shifted to Beastboy, "What did you mean when you said the Titans were battered? What's been going on since I've been stone?!" 

"I'll explain it all on the way back to the tower. Boy have you missed a _lot_," Beastboy said. Terra had been absent for so long. . . It was very strange to have her suddenly back. Beastboy's feelings for her were in a jumble. She'd repented at the very last minute when she had been working for Slade. She had betrayed the Titan's then betrayed him. Her loyalties were shaky at best. Would the other Titans give her another chance? Could he? _Raven did. Sort of. . . I guess._ He glanced at Raven's limp figure in Malchior's arms. She and her cloak were still bloody, despite the healing. "Can we do anything to help her?" 

"Pray to whatever gods you pay homage to," Malchior said in a flat tone. After stroking Raven's forehead, he let Beastboy lead the way back to the tower. 

-------------------- 

Terra stared slack jawed at Beastboy, pointing a finger at him. She was wearing a fresh new Titans outfit, identical to her old Titans uniform. "Holy crap! You? A were-Beastboy? Mad Mod turned Jump city into Britain? _Raven fell in love_?" She threw her arms into the air. "I missed all the good stuff!" 

Beastboy halfheartedly laughed. Terra picked up on it. She lowered her eyes and looked away. 

"Beastboy, I- I've been- I need to apologize to you. I was- am- a monster. I- I can't believe that I let myself get carried away like that and-" she shook her head. "It was all my fault. I'll understand if you and the others never forgive me." 

"Terra, we've already forgiven you," Beastboy said quietly. He couldn't meet her eyes. "No one's touched your room since you left." 

They both looked up. Terra's eyes watered. "Beastboy- I-" She shook her head. Beastboy reached out and hugged her. Terra cried into his shoulder. "I thought I'd never see anyone again. In that last moment before- before my body was transformed- all I could think of was what a horrible person I was. All the harm I had done- and for what? Acceptance from a psychopath? Control over my powers? I could have gotten control and acceptance here. . . But I thought that you had told Robin about- about my powers. . ." 

"It's okay Terra. I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for the things I said." 

There was a short shriek from the doorway and suddenly Terra was snatched out of his arms. Beastboy looked around in a panic, but soon realized what was going on. Starfire, returning from Titans East, had grabbed Terra, plopped her in the middle of the floor and was now poking, prodding and pinching her. 

"Ow! Starfire!" Terra said. Starfire promptly grabbed Terra's open mouth and nearly stuck her head in. 

"You are not a clone or a robot or a hologram or a illusion are you? Because if you are this is a mean trick to play!" Starfire scolded her. 

"Ah naht ahn ahllushion ahr ahythying!" Terra said, her mouth still pried open. 

"Have you forgotten how to talk in English? Or is this a new language?" Starfire asked. 

"Dude, Star! She can't talk if you're holding her jaw like that." 

"Oh," Starfire let go. "What is it you say? 'My badder'?" 

"Something like that," Terra said, massaging her jaw. 

Starfire promptly threw her arms around Terra in a bone crushing hug. "You are all right! You are not like a rock any longer! This is glorious!" She thrust Terra away from her, but still held on, inspecting the younger Titan's face. 

Terra gasped, "Grip still as strong as ever I see." 

"How is it that this came about? Was it like in the tales of fairy, where the Prince kisses the princess and she returns to normal?" She rounded on Beastboy, "Are you a prince and you have not told us, friend Beastboy?" 

Beastboy shook his head. "I didn't have anything to do with it. It was all-" 

"What the-?!" 

"Is that who I think it is?" 

Robin (who was looking better than he had several hours ago) and Cyborg entered the common room. They were thunderstruck by the sight of Terra. The blond wilted away slightly when she saw them. Starfire picked her up and held her out to the boys. "It is! Terra is no longer a stone!" 

"Starfire, you can put me down. . ." Terra said. 

Robin walked up to Terra and scrutinized her closely. Suddenly he plucked out one of her hairs. 

"Ow!" Terra exclaimed. Robin handed the hair to Cyborg who place it into a slot that popped open on his right arm. "What the heck was that for-?" Terra growled. 

"DNA's a match," Cyborg informed his dark haired comrade. "It's her." 

Robin's eyes widened. "You- how did this-?" 

Terra shook her head slightly. "Not sure. Raven and that alien-wizard with the funky markings around his eyes did something, but I wasn't really awake for the process. When that other alien showed up things got way too intense to try and figure out-" 

"What other alien?" Robin demanded suddenly. 

"Rorek," Beastboy said. Instantly everyone's attention was directed towards him. 

"What?!" Robin exclaimed. 

"Tall dark and brutal met you guys and you didn't get a pounding?" Cyborg said, astonished. 

"I am most curious about that. Did he not notice you?" Starfire looked concerned and she finally set down Terra. "He was very persistent in hurting us when we met him." 

"He only hurt one person irreparably," Malchior said, floating into the room with worry etched around his eyes- the only thing you could see. The three returning Titans realized who was missing. Silence pierced the room like an arrow. Malchior closed his eyes. "My brother has- done something horrible." 

"Oh no. Not Rae." Cyborg looked as if his systems had been shut down. 

"Raven is hurt? How so? Can we do nothing to help?" Starfire gripped Mal's arm so tightly that he almost lost circulation. 

"Irreparably? He didn't kill-" Robin began, but he was cut off by the strangest sight. 

"Nope, I'm still in perfect working order. Physically, that is," Raven said, a huge grin across her face. Starfire, Cyborg and Robin looked thunderstruck. 

"Are you wearing _pink_?" A twitch was going in one of Robin's eyes. 

"I've only seen that face once before!" Cyborg said. He looked over at Beastboy. "What the heck did you do man?!" 

"It wasn't me!" Beastboy protested. He was about to explain what had happened when Starfire, overjoyed that Raven appeared to be all right (and unfazed by the sudden wardrobe change) threw her arms around her friend. 

"You are unharmed!" Starfire exploded. Raven laughed happily. 

"So are you guys! Oh, you don't now how relieved I am to see you all!" Raven was beaming. Cyborg and Robin were giving Raven weirder looks by the moment. 

"Uh, this might sound odd, but Raven, why are you so _happy_?" Robin was getting more confused as the seconds ticked on. 

Raven and Starfire stopped hugging, and Raven's cloak suddenly shifted back to blue. "Oh, god," she held her head in her hands, then rubbed her temples. "I- I'm sorry. I can't keep my emotions at bay. I'm trying but He- my mind is clouded and I can't fix it. . ." Raven took a couple of deep breaths and regained her composure. Before anyone could react Beastboy and Malchior launched into a long explanation so Raven's didn't have to. When they were finished Robin looked at Raven again. She seemed more focused at the moment, so he risked asking a question. 

"Beastboy said he and Cyborg met some parts of you. Some were friendly, some were not, and they all had different colors. Which colors can we trust and what do they represent?" 

Raven sighed. "Most of my emotions are very broad, so they don't represent a single thing. My normal blue is Self-restraint. You can trust it always. Gray is Timid, but it also encompasses fear, sorrow, doubt. . . Not a person you want to rely on in a battle. Yellow is Intellect, book smarts, wisdom, memory, all of that, but usually more of a talker than a fighter. Green is Bravery, self-confidence, my battle sense. Pink-" Raven looked pained, "- it's unrestrained Happiness and everything it encompasses. Entirely too talkative, open, and shares my sense of humor with Intellect and- Orange," she breezed over that quickly. "Purple is- well, purple is friendly. Too friendly. Avoid purple." 

"How can it be 'too friendly'? And why isn't it grouped in Happiness?" Cyborg asked. "She was awfully friendly." 

"Purple is different. Avoid her, Orange, and most of all _avoid Red_. That is Anger, hate, rage. . . It's the wonderful side of me that would destroy you all." Raven paused. "And avoid Brown if you see her, which I somehow doubt you will." 

"Wait, Orange we saw in the mirror, that was like- Rudeness, wasn't it?" Beastboy volunteered. 

Raven scowled. "To put it mildly. It is the total lack of any and all self-restraint. She is more or less friendly, but dangerous in her own way." 

"And are the Purple and the Brown dangerous as well?" Starfire asked. 

"No, I'd just rather be left alone in those forms," Raven said, just a mite too quickly. Only Malchior (due to a sudden aura flux) and Beastboy picked up on it. Neither Purple nor Brown had done anything to identify themselves when he and Cyborg were in the mirror. He wondered why Raven wanted them kept a secret. 

"Okay, so we'll watch out for them," Robin nodded. 

Malchior noticed small flares in Raven's aura when talking about Anger, but also Purple. He could guess what it was. "Raven, I may be able to help you repair some of what my brother has-" 

Raven's cloak snapped to orange. "I don't need _your_ help," it shifted back to blue. "I'm sorry, I need more rest." She teleported out of the room abruptly. 

"Oh man, that is so not good," Cyborg said. 

"I am curious- what could the Brown and the Purple be that would make Raven want us to avoid them?" Starfire asked Robin. Robin shrugged. 

"I have no clue, but they're either dangerous- or embarrassing," Robin said. "We should take her advice until we know more. I'll have to talk to her later about it-" 

"I don't think that's wise," Malchior said, as Beastboy said "Robin, that's a bad idea." Malchior picked it up. "Your confronting her will only compound the problem. I can monitor how she's doing through my Second Sight. You don't need to worry. It is my responsibility to undo what my brother has done," he said seriously. 

"Uh, no offense Alien-boy," Terra said, an eyebrow raising, "but brother dear threw you around like a baseball. Without breaking a sweat, might I add. How are you gonna reverse this?" 

Malchior looked at the earth mover sadly. "I do not know." He could sense her uneasiness around him and the others and could guess why. He had seen Raven's memories after all. "I am going to meditate upon the answer to that question." He slipped out of the room. Terra frowned. 

"Okay, maybe the broody people just don't like me. They sure don't hang around me a lot," Terra mumbled. Robin and Cyborg were still giving her odd looks. Starfire, it seemed, had totally and unconditionally forgiven Terra. The two boys didn't quite seem as quick to embrace the idea that she was back. Terra looked down at her shoes. "I'm only going to stay the night. I'll be gone in the morning." 

"But friend-!" Starfire began to protest but Beastboy put a hand over her mouth. 

Cyborg and Robin glanced at one another and nodded. Robin stepped forward. "Terra, I think you know I can't let you do that." He folded his arms. 

Terra turned sheet white. "You mean you're going to haul me off to jail?" She whispered. "I- I know I deserve it but please- I just want one more chance-" 

Cyborg stepped up so that he was lined up with Robin. "There's no way we're letting you run off away from the Titans again. You're not going anywhere now and you're certainly not leaving in the morning." He ruffled up Terra's hair. Robin broke into a big grin. 

"We forgive you," he said, "just- don't do it again. Once we can forgive, but twice we won't forget." 

Terra looked relieved. She grinned nervously. Cyborg patted her on the back and nearly knocked her over. "We're going to need all the help we can get against Rorek," he muttered. "It's good to have a strong teammate back." 

"It's good to BE back," Terra said. "Although I kinda wish it was under better circumstances. . ." 

Robin nodded. "Me too, Terra. Me too." 

---------------------------- 

Malchior had taken up looking in Raven's room every hour or so, checking up on her. For nearly a day Raven had been in a meditative trance, trying to calm her mind. It wasn't working. He could tell. Her aura still fluctuated wildly, and the colors of her cloak were constantly changing. It was only a matter if time before she gave up this tactic and tried something else. 

Raven, on the other hand, was getting more and more irked by the visits she was getting. It was a perfect cycle. Malchior would pop his head in for a moment, and a few seconds later, Beastboy, as a small animal, would sneak in to check on her. Robin often stopped by well after they had both left, with Starfire clinging to his arm. Then Cyborg's hand or something else with a camera attached would sneak in and report back to her cybernetic buddy. Terra was passing the room every so often but never stopped in. She was probably too afraid of what Raven might do to her. Frankly, Raven was more fearful than she was. She was unstable, and as soon as she stepped out of her trance one emotion or another would overwhelm her, and her powers would go ballistic. Raven screwed her eyes shut. She had to find her center. 

"Rae?" 

Raven's eyes snapped open. Her cloak flashed a frustrated red, but settled into blue. "Hello Beastboy," she said quietly. 

The door slid open more, and he slipped in, holding a tray. "You haven't eaten anything since we found you." There was an odd silence. "I brought you some food." He set it down on her bed in front of her. Raven looked at it. 

"Soup and herbal tea," she muttered. Her robe turned pink. "Thank you so much Beastboy," she smiled. She scooped up the spoon and started digging in. "Boy, I didn't realize how hungry I was!" She was loud and happy, and Beastboy couldn't help but let out a little snort of laughter. 

"What?" Raven said through the spoon. 

"You're just so- awkward doing the 'happy' thing. It- it's not _you_. Even though it really _is_. . ." Beastboy said with a sort of lopsided grin. 

"Hey, you think this is awkward, wait 'till you meet Purple and Brown. Hah! I bet they'll throw you for a loop!" She laughed. Suddenly her cloak turned gray. "You won't meet Purple. I'd never be that lucky. I thought that Mal-" she shook her head, blinking back tears. She ate more soup to prevent herself from saying any more. Beastboy was growing more and more concerned for her. He slipped an arm around her. Raven's cloak turned orange. "Get off," she shoved him. Go play with _Terra_." She said in spiteful tones. "Are you going to act like a dog and follow her everywhere until she breaks your heart again? Or are you too stupid to keep tabs on her after she's betrayed us once?" 

"Well, now I know where the _jerk_ part of you comes from," Beastboy snapped. "This is everything I _don't_ like about you Raven." 

The cloak suddenly went into a very dark shade of gray. Beastboy was startled, he had expected a fancy rebuttal from Rudeness. Instead, Raven curled up weeping. Things in the room began to tremble. Raven couldn't stand it any longer. She was being ruled by her emotions, and she was doing things she never would normally. If she couldn't fix this. . . Well, she would have to fix it or leave the Titans and destroy herself. She would not give into Trigon. She couldn't. He'd kill her friends, raze the city and consume the good of the world until he had twisted it into evil. She would not be his avatar. She was not like him. Her demon blood was not stronger than her human blood. 

_"I broke free of the restraints my father's blood imposed upon me. I made it part of my very being, then I was able to destroy him." _Rorek's words haunted her. _"You can do the same. I can help you."_ He was clearly stronger than he should be. He had embraced something about his nature that was beyond the normal reach of a mortal. He was powerful enough to simply play with her, then toss her aside, broken. He had done it to Titans East, he had done it to Malchior. . . 

Raven trembled, still weeping. He had only harmed them physically. He had attacked her mentally, her weakness for sure. There was no way back to the semi-stable point she had managed to get her mind to through years and years of meditating every day. She couldn't even concentrate long enough to meditate for a minute now. 

She felt Beastboy sit down next to her. "You don't need to apologize," she said quietly. "I should-" 

"If you start apologizing then I'm gonna have to hit you," Beastboy said. "Last time you were in gray and you started apologizing Cyborg and I couldn't get you to shut up for an hour." 

Raven made a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a broken sob. 

"Is there anything we can do to help?" 

Raven shook her head. 

"Terra's been wanting to talk to you." 

"It's not the best idea right now," Raven whispered. 

"She was so worried that you had died back in the caves-" 

"_I don't want to talk about that!_" Raven said, clutching her head. It was throbbing with pain. "I don't want to talk about the caves, or what happened there or how royally screwed I am!" Raven cried. "I can't stay here Beastboy. I'm endangering everyone." 

"So where are you going to go?" Beastboy said forcefully. Raven cowered a little, which he expected. "We're the only ones who could help you and the only ones who might survive if you do attack us. Do you want to put innocent people at risk by running off somewhere?" 

"No-" she sobbed. 

"Then you're just going to have to stay here and deal with us checking up on you and trying to help you," Beastboy said firmly. "And we'll deal with sorting out this Raven or that Raven." 

Raven suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders, much like she had after her encounter with Malchior the Dragon. "You're a good person to be such a wonderful friend to such a monster like me," she said. 

Beastboy shifted awkwardly. It was just weird to have Raven hug him. "I don't see any monsters here," Beastboy said, pulling back away from her and smiling. "I just see your pretty face." 

Raven shrunk back, then murmured "I'd like to be alone now. Tell Terra I forgive her." 

Beastboy nodded,. Raven's cloak was still gray. He really didn't want to leave her like that. "Promise me you'll eat the rest of the soup? It's full of Tofu goodness," he said with a smile. 

Raven nodded, a faint smile playing across her features and her cloak rapidly brightening to pink. "I promise." 

Beastboy, satisfied, walked out of the room, turned a corner and nearly ran into Cyborg, Robin and Starfire. "What are you guys doing?" 

"We were worried about Raven but we were not sure if she wished to talk to us. So we did the dropping of the eves while you talked to her," Starfire said. "She is very upset that she cannot control her emotions, is that correct?" 

"Well, yeah, I would be too if I was wearing my emotions on my sleeve and couldn't stop them." 

Starfire looked confused for a second. Then she smiled. "Oh! I see! Wearing your emotions on your sleeve causes the sleeve to change color like Raven's cloak?" 

"It's an expression Star," Robin said. "It means your feelings are out in the open." 

Starfire nodded gravely, but still looked confused. "So just the sleeve in the open changes color?" 

Robin sighed and shook his head. 

"Well? How's she doing?" Cyborg demanded." 

"She's okay, but she needs time alone," Beastboy said. "She'd really worried that we're gonna kick her out." 

"We'd never do that!" Robin said indignantly. 

"You try telling that to her Timid side," Beastboy shook his head. The four Titans stood there in silence, then they collectively began moving down the hall. "The fact remains, Raven's mind is splintered, and we don't know how long until she can't control it any longer. She's worried about emotional stress. She doesn't even want to see Terra." 

"Considering the last time they really got to talk, I'm not surprised," Cyborg murmured. "But why'd Raven bring Terra back?" 

Beastboy shook his head. "I don't know." He stopped walking. "I'm going to find Mal. Maybe I can help him think of something." Beastboy trotted off in another direction. As he left earshot, Robing inclined his head towards Cyborg. 

"Cy, there's a very simple explanation for why Raven brought Terra back." 

"There is?" The tin man looked intrigued. "What's that?" 

"Even normally Raven is fearful of her emotions. What happens when she is angry, being blinded by love to the Dragon, all of that is tied into it. If there is ever a more complicated emotion than anger and hate, it's its counterpart: love." Robin glanced at Starfire for the briefest of moments, safe in knowing that his eyes were hidden by his mask. 

Cyborg rubbed the back of his neck. "I know BB had, or _has,_ a crush on Rae- but are you suggesting it might go both ways?" 

"That and Malchior showing up confounded her totally. You saw how crazy she got." 

"Crazy's not a strong enough word," Cyborg said, recalling vividly the black power that Raven used. "You know, if she did let her emotions get a little wild she could probably take down Rorek in no time." 

Starfire shook her head, finally interjecting. "Raven has met Rorek already. That did not turn out well at all. I do not think that letting her emotions run wild will give Raven any sort of advantage." 

"It would probably be a _disadvantage_," Robin said. The group started walking again heading toward the common room area. "Raven would be so emotionally involved in the battle she wouldn't think straight." 

Bringing the conversation back, Cyborg raised his eyebrow. "So, Raven brought Terra back so BB would fall back head over heels in love with her and Raven wouldn't have to sort out her emotions? Is Raven really that scared of them?" 

"She keeps them locked up in a magic mirror and when they're out she is almost always Timid," Robin said, slightly amused. "If that's not being afraid of something, nothing is." 

Terra's head appeared around the corner. She looked at the other Titans and was about to ask a question when Cyborg answered for her. "Raven's okay, but I wouldn't go talk to her yet. She's still stressed out." 

Terra nodded. The four Titans proceeded to the kitchen. Worry burned a lot of calories. 

------------------- 

Malchior had been meditating for only a few minutes when he felt the presence beside him. His sightless eyes opened. Letting his hands fall from his kneecaps and into the middle of his lap he spoke a single word. "Why?" 

"_Why?_ Oh, please, how long have we been brothers? All _your_ life, for sure," Rorek sighed dramatically, "and yet still you know nothing about me." 

"You are Rorek _the Black_. My brother, a murderer and a mind shatterer. That is all I ever need to know," Malchior said, his voice laced with venom. "Shouldn't the Titans know you're here? Doesn't their security system detect intruders?" 

Rorek laughed, a surprisingly pleasant laugh. It brought back memories of their younger days. "You'll never listen to me Mal, so I'm not going to even _try_ to explain." Rorek mimicked his brother, floating in the lotus position. Malchior could not see the mockery, but he could feel it in his brother's twisted aura. 

"You have grasped power that wasn't meant to be grasped." 

"Not by normal mortals, but we are different." 

"You are different. You are corrupt." 

Rorek rolled his eyes. "You know, you're incredibly stubborn." 

"And you're a monster." 

"We'll see about that," Rorek hissed. "You know that girl you're attracted to? She's the daughter of a demon. She's a monster, just like me." He flicked his brother's ear. "You think she's strong enough to not let her anger take her over? You wait and see. Just wait and see." 

"Raven is _not_ like you," Malchior yelled. "You are evil! She is not!" 

"This is coming from the man who absolutely cannot see the world in black and white!" Rorek shouted, rising to his feet. "You know nothing about evil and good brother! There is no such thing! There are people who do things that appear good and there are people who do things that appear evil. You never know what the outcome of your actions will be. Letting a rat survive- a kind thing- can cause a plague, while killing it- which you would deem evil- may save a thousand lives!" Malchior shaded his eyes, as his brother's aura flared up blindingly. When he was able to see with his second sight again, he saw a comfortable, concerned green aura. 

"Hey, is this a bad time?" Beastboy asked cautiously. 

"It's a very good time, actually," Malchior said quietly. "I need someone sensible to talk to." 

"Oh. I see. I'll go get Robin-" Beastboy said. Malchior laughed. Beastboy's aura doubled in brightness as he smiled. 

"You got the joke," Beastboy said, sitting down next to Malchior. "I thought you would be more like-" 

"More like Raven and ignore it?" 

"Yeah. Hey, how'd you know that?" 

"I talked to the others. They told me a lot about Raven and you." Malchior closed his eyes. "You are her counterpart, after all." 

Beastboy's aura twisted. "C- counterpart?" He stammered. 

"Yes. Your are wild while she is reserved. You make jokes, she makes observations. You throw yourself into the limelight, while she retreats into the darkness behind the scenes," Malchior slowly put a hand on Beastboy's shoulder. "You are her counterpart. You balance her out." 

Beastboy felt a blush rising to his face at the idea. "Yeah, I think of her as a friend, she thinks of me as an annoyance." 

"Perhaps," Malchior said. 

"I just don't get it!" Beastboy suddenly blurt out. "Star's always happy and bubbly and Raven hardly _ever_ has a problem with her, but with me, it's like everything I do offends her!" 

"I don't think it does." 

"Oh? Then why does she act like that?" 

"You want my honest opinion?" 

Beastboy nodded. Malchior remained silent. Beastboy was going to lose his temper when he realized his mistake. "I mean, yeah! What do you think?" 

"I think she's jealous," the blind sorcerer said. 

"Oh, so that's it- wait- _jealous_?" Beastboy's aura changed shades with shock. "Why would she be jealous of _me?_" 

"Because you can throw yourself into the limelight. You get to express yourself, while she has to keep her emotions under wraps. Now that is even harder for her than ever," Malchior sighed. 

"Is there anything we can do?" 

"I don't know," Malchior said. "I've never heard of any way to reverse damage done to a person's mind. We were taught never to do it because it was _irreversible_." 

"There has to be something!" Beastboy said. 

"And I will do my best to find it, I assure you." 

"And I'll help any way I can!" Beastboy said enthusiastically. "Who knows, the blind sorcerer and the annoying green changeling may just create a new set of rules for your magic."  
"Maybe so," Malchior said. Beastboy's aura glowed with hope. 

"I don't think that brooding out here is gonna help. You think Raven might let us take a look at your grandpa's book? That might give us some clues." 

Malchior stood. "An intriguing idea. You could travel to the library." 

"Library? Whoa. That means I'd have to _read_?" 

"Well I certainly can't," Malchior said, gesturing at his eyes. 

"You know, that's a great way to get out of work and stuff," Beastboy rubbed his chin in thought. "However, I like TV too much to give up my sight." He bounded to the door back into Titan's tower. "You coming Mal?" 

"In a minute." Beastboy nodded and went back inside. Malchior walked slowly to the edge of the Tower, looking over a black rent in the sky where his brother had passed. "I don't understand Rorek. I don't understand. What is it that you're looking for? What is it that you want?" 

Whatever it was, Raven was the key. 

--------------------------------------------------------- 

A/N: Me 3 Rorek. Such a cool character to play with. So is Mal, but Rorek is the 'crazy' brother so he can do whatever he wants! Woot! 

Before you even ask, yes, you will see Brown and Purple and find out what they are. Brown is special for me that's the only hint I'll give you. There's enough hints about purple in the story all ready. Next chapter: Raven gone Wild! Let's see what happes when you let all the different sides of her loose, shall we? How will the other Titans react? How will she react to the other Titans? coughTerracough. How will Malchior convince Beastboy to go into a Library? 

You'll just have to wait and see. 


	5. Destiny Calling

Author's note: I apologize for the delay, but a little thing called life kinda swept me up and tried to drown me. Damn thing just won't go away.

Anyway, here's a new chapter, and for any of you that may read my other fics, XMES5 is the next story I'm going to be updating (hopefully). The next update on this story should be much faster as I am all ready part way through it and I'm coming up to the end of the story. (should wrap up in the next chapter or so.)

Oh, yeah, the Titan are owned by DC. I made up Mal and Rorek and most of their family based off the character in Spellbound. Woot.

_Once Broken, Twice Shattered_

Part Five: Destiny Calling

It had been three days since Rorek had shattered her mind when Raven finally gave up on meditating. It wasn't working and the constant checking up on her by the other Titans and Malchior was getting on her nerves. She didn't want to lash out at them in anger. It was 5:30 in the morning when she crept into the kitchen, desperate for a gallon or so of herbal tea for her rapidly fraying nerves.

When she entered the kitchen, much to her surprise, she wasn't the only occupant. Terra was there, head flat on the counter, a can of soda wrapped in one hand, and three others on the floor. Raven's cloak fluttered to Orange.

"Back only a couple of days and you're all ready making a mess of the Tower I see."

Terra looked up, and Raven immediately regretted saying anything. He cloak shifted to Gray as she saw Terra's bloodshot eyes and the tear strains down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I'll clean it up, promise."

"I didn't mean to be mean," the Gray Raven blurted out. "I'm so sorry! I'm just such a mess."

"I deserve it," Terra said. "Look at all the shit I put you guys through, and you just give me back my place, no questions asked." She slammed her head back into the counter. "I'm such a horrible person."

Raven's cloak shifted to Yellow. "Cut that out. Now. You're just going to make yourself sick and kill brain cells. Besides, if you were such a horrible person you wouldn't feel so guilty."

Terra looked up at Raven. "Do you forgive me?" She asked.

"No," the Yellow Raven said seriously. "But you haven't apologized to me yet."

"What are you now?" Terra said through a blur of tears. "You said yellow was- Intelligence?"

"Right now consider me Raven's rational side. It's best for you to talk to me," Yellow answered. She slipped the soda can out of Terra's hand. "You'll rot your teeth and you'll never be able to sleep drinking this. Let me make you some tea. It always helps me calm down." Yellow set the kettle on the stove telekinetically. She turned the stovetop on with one hand, while the other gestured at the cabinet she had commandeered years ago to store her massive amounts of tea. It opened, revealing that it was filled to the brim with all sorts of herbal tea mixes. Two tea bags danced out into Raven's open hand. Raven put them in two cups she plucked from another cabinet, then set these on the counter as her telekinesis closed her tea cupboard. "There. Now all we have to do is wait for the water to boil."

Terra looked at Raven's calm, almost totally emotionless face and burst into tears. Raven almost shifted to Gray, then nearly to the spiteful Orange, but she managed to keep her good common sense. "Raven, I'm so sorry! I- I knew about your temper, god Raven, I am such a monster. I said so many evil things, I _did_ so many evil things. . ." She looked up at the dark girl. "As I realized that I was probably going to die, there was only one thing I wanted to do. I wanted to apologize to Beastboy and you. I was so horrible. . . So awfully horrible to the both of you. I- I played with your emotions like- like Slade played with me and I-"

"Terra," Raven said evenly, her cloak returning to normal, "I understand. I'll accept your apology on one condition." Terra looked up at her. "Stay the hell away from me until this blows over. I'm not in control Terra, and part of me will always be furious at you. We're fine at the moment, but after we have our little tea party you and I should go our separate ways." The tea kettle whistled. Raven walked over to it, poured the tea, and telekinetically gave Terra her cup. Raven stayed by the stove, drank her tea in record time, then poured herself another cup, which she sipped delicately, eyes closed. Sometime between starting that cup and finishing it Terra drank all of her tea, muttered, "Thank you," then left. Raven relaxed. It was comforting to know that she hadn't immediately tried to tear Terra into tiny pieces. That meant she had some control.

Raven looked at the clock. It blinked back at her 5:42. From experience she realized that none of the Titans would be up before nine in the morning, since they had all had a harrowing day. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to sleep even if she was hit over the head with a club. Trying to read a book wouldn't help much either. Books tended to elicit emotions in her, but they were not real situations so her powers never went astray. She could dive into a book and experience a full range of emotion and never show it on her face. This time, however, Raven wasn't so sure that she could keep her powers under control under any emotional stress whatsoever. If she read anything now she was sure it would compound her problem.

After a third cup of tea Raven slipped out of the kitchen and went towards the deeper parts of the Tower.

Beastboy was tossing and turning in his bed, experiencing one of the worst nightmares he had ever known.

_The cage around him was invisible, but any time he tried to escape the bars would snap into sudden clarity. There was nothing else around him in the endless darkness except for a lone figure clad in a familiar blue. "Raven!" Beastboy shouted. "Raven!"_

_Raven stirred. She turned around, saw him imprisoned and began to run towards him. "What happened to you? The dog catcher think you were a stray?" She said with the usual traces of sarcasm. "Stand back. I'll have you out in a second."_

_But to Beastboy's horror he now noticed that they were not alone. A giant purple figure- looking very much like Trigon the demon with wings, a tail, and black hair- loomed up in the darkness. Beastboy tried to scream a warning to Raven, but no sound came out of his mouth. The figure reached out and struck at Raven. Though she blocked most of the attack with on of her shields, one of her arms was clearly broken by the impact. She screamed and it pierced Beastboy's soul. The creature hit Raven again and this time she was unable to defend herself. Beastboy watched in mute horror as the creature picked her broken, bleeding body up and began to consume her._

Despite all his efforts to look away or wake up, Beastboy couldn't until the creature lunged at him. He then woke up in a cold sweat, too horrified to even scream. After his breathing had slowed and his heat had stopped trying to escape his rib cage, he got up and left his room. He went to the bathroom, vomited, then washed himself up.

His ears twitched. He thought he heard something almost like music. When he popped his head out of the bathroom it had stopped.

_Maybe it was Malchior,_ Beastboy thought. He sincerely hoped the alien would be able to think up something to help Raven. _If Mal can't think of anything, who can? Tomorrow I'd better go see if there's any way I can help him._

Cyborg came into the common room at about five to ten that morning, yawning all the way. He planned on making breakfast- "A REAL breakfast for once!" He rejoiced- since he heard Beastboy still snoring in his room. Normally the changeling's animal instincts meant he was the first one up, so generally he was the Lord of Breakfast. "Today that all changes! The incredible Cyborg is gonna cook up some REAL food!"

"Sorry Cy!" A happy laugh rang out. "You're way too late!" Raven, in bright Pink, had all ready begun cooking. She had about six skillets of food cooking on the oversized stove. "I've got some really great organic stuff here- and some tofu for Beastboy, since he doesn't eat anything besides that."

Cyborg's eyes nearly popped out. "Raven?"

"No, I'm the tooth fairy!" Pink said. Her grin grew wider. "Who did you think it would be, silly?"

"Why are you so happy?" Cyborg asked, not so delicately.

"I don't know!" The Pink Raven said through her teeth. "I just woke up like this way this morning and I seem to be stuck. So I figured I might as well share my good mood with everyone!" On 'everyone' she threw her arms up and the contents of the skillet behind her exploded. They sailed through the air and landed on Cyborg. Pink burst out laughing. "Look!" She said as Robin walked into the kitchen. "Instead of Cyborg having breakfast this morning, breakfast's having _him!_"

The groggy Robin looked from Cyborg to the bright Pink Raven, then left the common room quickly. "I'm not awake enough for that. . ." He murmured to himself. Starfire watched him leave curiously. Pink's piercing laughter made Starfire even more curious and she walked into the common room. Upon seeing the Pink Raven Starfire smiled.

"Oh, friend, it is _glorious_ to see you in such a wonderful mood!" She bubbled, giving Raven a hug. "What are you making? It smells wonderful!"

"French toast!" Raven replied. "It's a wonderful treat!"

Starfire caught sight of Cyborg trying to peel a half cooked piece of French toast from the side of his face. "Do the French always wear their toast before eating it?"

"No, just Cyborg," Pink laughed. She leaned towards Starfire, "It had a crush on him," she informed the other girl.

Starfire looked elated and baffled at the same time. "I am most glad that you have found a friendly piece of toast Cyborg, but please, could you explain to me why the toast has feelings?"

"Raven's just making a bad joke Star," Cyborg said, tossing the piece of toast into the garbage and wiping off his head. Terra was the next person to enter the room. She looked over the scene and almost followed Robin's example. Raven swooped on her before she got the chance.

"French toast?" She offered, smiling uncontrollably.

Terra thought it best to just nod.

"How many pieces?" The Pink Raven asked.

"As many as you want to make," Terra said, slowly backing away. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid of the angry Raven or the happy one. Terra looked at Cyborg. The robot-man shrugged.

"Is it not beautiful outside?" Starfire said. "It reminds me of a summer day on Tamaran!"

Raven laughed. "It is nice out, isn't it?" Smoke began puffing up from one of the other skillets she was using. "Whoops!" She said. She removed the skillet form the stove with her hands and using her telekinesis she began moving pieces of French toast and tofu to a large serving platter.

Beastboy walked in and for a second thought he was still asleep as a piece of tofu passed by his face. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Beastboy!" Raven said, her cloak slightly shifting to purple for a moment, then twisting back to pink. "I've made breakfast!" She looked over to the chaos that covered the kitchen counter. There was a milk carton that had exploded as she had started singing earlier while making the stuff to dip the toast in, several cartons of eggs laying about empty and a few eggs scattered here and there. Also there were random piece of toast sticking to the cabinets. "I also made a bit of a mess, but I can clean it!" She gestured at the sink. The water turned on, and the sponges began flying around to clean things, after getting soaped up in the sink.

"Raven," Beastboy ducked as a sponge set about scrubbing a mess above his head," should you be using your power like this?"

Malchior entered the room as Beastboy was saying this, and the shape shifter looked at him. Malchior seemed a little overwhelmed by how spread out Raven's powers were around the room.

"Chill out BB, I know what I'm doing!" Pink said. A skillet rocket towards Cyborg. He barely caught it before it slammed into his head. "Oops. Sorry Cy! Watch out for low flying objects!" She looked at Beastboy again. "Besides, there's too much power building up in me. I have to get some of it out or I'm likely to blow up the whole tower!" She grinned.

"Okay, the fact that you can say that with that look on your face is just way too creepy," Beastboy said.

Malchior almost groaned as he saw Raven's aura do a total turn around. "That was not the right thing to say," he sighed.

Pink shifted to Gray in a flash. All of the scrubbing sponges dropped to the ground. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean it. Honest. I would never, ever think about hurting any of you guys. Ever. Please don't kick me out." He eyes filled with tears.

"Raven, we would never-" Beastboy began, but Raven burst into tears as he spoke. The changeling looked totally befuddled and the other Titans didn't know how to react.

Malchior stepped forward. He used his second sight as best he could to take Raven's chin in his hand and tilt her face up so her eyes met his. As Raven looked at him, her cloak shifted to purple and she wrapped her arms around him, still sniffling slightly. Malchior looked a little surprised. He held her back, but his mind was more focused on the sudden effect this was having on everyone else.

Beastboy's aura went from a bright green to almost a blinding white-green in shock. Cyborg's and Terra's auras were much the same, but they were muted. Beastboy had traces of other emotions twirling around to add to his aura's intensity. Starfire's aura doubled in size, showing her great joy at the moment. Raven's white light had taken on a slightly purple hue and was twisting in a certain way that Malchior knew meant trouble. Robin walked into the room, his aura lurched, and he looked like he was going to walk out again until Starfire shot over to him and embraced him, totally caught up in the moment. Robin's aura changed to resemble hers.

Malchior knew what he had to do, but he really didn't want to. "Love, control yourself," he murmured to her. "Please."

"Malchior, I thought-" the Purple Raven began, but then she stopped. "I think I understand." The purple faded in intensity, becoming much more a lavender, when it had been a violet before. "Thank you for being such a good friend."

Malchior smiled, a bit sadly. "I can be that and nothing more Raven," he said so only she could hear. "For that I am sorry, but we both know it is for the best."

"Yes," the cloak flickered to Yellow. "You're right, of course." It returned to the lavender version of Purple, and she smiled at everyone. "I'm okay, really guys. Let's just have breakfast. A nice breakfast among friends."

Starfire swopped over to Raven. "Then you are Raven's friendship emotion?"

Purple shook her head. "That's part of it. I'm Love."

The Titans other than Starfire all paused. Beastboy looked somewhat horrified. Terra watched his reaction very closely. Beastboy almost went into a panic. "Wait, Love? As in, like, romantic-" he pointed at Malchior then back at Raven, "-as in you two!" His voice jumped up a few octaves.

"Well-" the Purple Raven began. The purple darkened slightly and Malchior suddenly turned pink. "It's not quite-"

She was cut off by a bone-crushing hug from her alien teammate "Oh, it is quite wonderful that your two are in love! When is the wedding?"

"Wedding!" Robin said. "Whoa, Star, slow down there." He pulled Starfire off of Raven. Raven was blushing furiously at the idea of marriage.

Cyborg looked almost as stunned as Beastboy had. "Are you two dating or something?"

"No," Malchior and Raven said at the same time. Malchior continued. "Raven is attracted to me because of her experience with the Dragon and how similar we are. I am attracted to her by the light of her aura. . ."

"In other words, it's not the sort of attraction you build a relationship on," the Purple Raven concluded. "We're friends, nothing more." There was an audible twinge of sadness in her voice.

The Titans exchanged glances.

"Thanks for making breakfast Raven," Terra said, breaking the silence. Raven smiled at her gratefully. Her cloak shifted to pink and her smile broadened to almost unnatural proportions again.

"Well come on guys! Let's eat!" Raven shouted, her powers reaching out and setting places at the table. Once everyone had found their seats she began distributing orange juice, milk (soy and regular) and mustard to everyone who wanted them using telekinesis. Malchior looked slightly distressed by the displays of power. Beastboy especially noticed this.

Breakfast was actually quite upbeat, even thought the situation wit Raven was a bit bizarre. She kept smiling and laughing the whole time. Starfire was overjoyed. She and Raven talked about everything the alien girl could think of. Terra was too disturbed to say anything. Robin was quietly observing the whole scene and Cyborg was taking power readings every time Raven used a whole lot of her power. Beastboy kept a close eye on Malchior. He felt a little jealous that Malchior had gotten so much attention from Raven. Beastboy had checked, he had been the only person Raven had ever hugged- until that morning.

"Beastboy? Would you be so kind as to help me in my studies today?" Malchior said unexpectedly.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Beastboy stammered.

Malchior smiled. Raven looked over at the two boys, a curious expression passing over her face. Malchior could see her curiosity. "I've asked Beastboy to help me look for a spell that might help heal your mind."

Raven smiled softly. "It's good to know I have such good friends," she said. She looked at Beastboy and her eyes sparkled slightly. "I hope everyone is enjoying breakfast," she added.

Terra, through a mouthful of food said "Dhis ish sho ghood," she swallowed. "I feel like I haven't eaten in months!"

"That's pretty much true," Robin said, shrugging.

"So, what's the game plan?" Cyborg asked between bites of French toast. "Are we tracking down Rorek, or not?"

"Did you get a good energy signature from him the last time we fought?" Robin asked. He began to pick up his plate to put it in the sink, but the plate flew up, encased in blackness, and it was attacked by two flying sponges. As each Titan finished their dishes rose up to join the others. Robin looks slightly miffed at this, but he looked back towards Cyborg.

"There was no way I _couldn't_ get perfect readings," Cyborg said, tapping the screen on his arm. "That guy was using SO much power he could probably light up the city for years."

Malchior sighed. "Rorek tends to do that," he said quietly. "I'm not even sure where he gets all his power _from_. All I know is that he cannot get access to the Library. That would be disastrous."

"So you, Beastboy and Raven will stay behind to guard the tower," Robin said. "The rest of us will try to track down Rorek."

The Titans all nodded. "Sounds good," Cyborg said. "Let me just give Titans East a heads up first. I wanna check out how they're doing."

Robin nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. He looked down at the table, which had been cleaned entirely by Raven's powers. "Uh, yeah, so let's get a move on people."

Everyone besides Malchior, Raven and Beastboy left the room. Raven sighed. "I wish I could be more of a help," he cloak shifted to gray, "but I'm so damn useless in this state. I'm more of a danger then an asset."

"That's not true," Beastboy said. "You're a great asset! Emotions all funky and out of control or not. Raven, you don't need to worry." He puffed out his chest. "Don't you fret Rae, Mal and I will find a spell to get you back to your old self. Then you can kick Rorek's butt and I'll bring the popcorn!"

Raven almost laughed at him and her cloak turned Purple. "You're a good friend Beastboy, but sometime I just don't know what to make of you."

Beastboy grinned widely at her, "I'm the short, green and mysterious type." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Malchior softly smiled and tried to walk away without them noticing, but he bumped right into a counter. Both of the Titan's turned as he hissed, "Ow!"

"Hey, man, look out," Beastboy said, gently grabbing Malchior's arm. "Let's set up in your room and head to the Library."

"Should I come help-?" Raven began.

"I wouldn't suggest it," Malchior said with a bit of remorse. "There are spells in the library that might be affected by your mood swings." He frowned, his eyes holding sorrow. "I'm sorry." He tired to smile, but he could see Raven's aura shifting to frustration. "I promise that as soon as we've found something that can help you, we'll let you know."

"Yeah," Beastboy piped up. "I mean, I'm no good at this Magic stuff. _Someone's_ going to have to help Mal with the spell, right?" Beastboy smiled widely.

Raven's cloak turned gray and she nodded. "I suppose you're right. I'll be meditating in my room if you need me," she said quietly. Raven floated out of the common room. Beastboy's face fell as she did. Malchior could tell he was worried for his dark companion.

"Mal, are we really going to be able to find something?" Beastboy asked.

Malchior closed his eyes and sighed. "We'll see. Come on." He led the way out of the common room and towards his own temporary quarters. Beastboy looked into the room and as surprised. The walls seemed to glow with pulsing lights. There seemed to be a dark streak that flowed in a circle through the light, over and over again. Beastboy shivered. As Malchior walked into the room he seemed to pause The markings around his eyes glowed for a fraction of a second and Beastboy could have sworn he saw pupils appear in Malchior's eyes for a moment. Malchior then continued walking into the room as if nothing had happened.

When Beastboy crossed the threshold into the room the light reached up. In that brief instant Beastboy felt his blood run cold. Malchior turned to look at him. "Are you all right?"

The feeling passed and Beastboy stammered, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

Malchior nodded at him. He went to get the book. Beastboy was fascinated by the light on the walls. He moved towards one of them to touch it, but sharply all of the light retracted into one point. Then it suddenly faded away with a burst. "Dude- your walls. . ."

Malchior turned his head slightly. "What?" He looked very puzzled.

"Never mind," Beastboy said. The room now looked totally normal. Beastboy had a funny feeling about the whole thing, but any questions he was going to ask were cut off as Malchior held out the white book to him. He had opened to the proper page. Beastboy took the book and although he wanted to smash it with his bare hands, he didn't. "So, I just read the spell, and that's it?"

Malchior nodded. "And you'll be able to contact me if you reach out with your mind. I'll stay by the book, and if I sense any turmoil I'll do what I can to pull you out."

"I think I'll be a-okay. Thanks man," Beastboy said. He half wanted to run into Malchior the dragon. He wanted to give him a 'Beastboy butt-kicking special'. _He hurt Raven. He hurt her a lot_, the changeling thought. _He deserves to be tormented back._ Beastboy recited the spell as best he could, and landed roughly in the library. "Owwwww," he muttered while rubbing his head. He opened one eye and chanced a look around. Standing over him was Rorek of Noll, holding out a hand. "I thought you couldn't come into the book?" Beastboy said, mistaking the older wizard for his descendant. The Beastboy saw his eyes and realized the man looked slightly taller. "You're not Mal, are you?"

"No, I'm not," the ancient wizard said. He helped Beastboy to his feet. "I am Rorek of Noll. I'm here to help- one way or another."

"So you know if there's a spell to fix Raven's mind?" Beastboy said eagerly.

Rorek paused. "There is no such spell. Raven's mind cannot be restored to the way it was before Rorek the Black inflicted that damage upon her."

"_What_?" Beastboy exploded. "You've got to be kidding me! How can there no be some sort of- some sort of antidote? Some sort of counter spell!" He waved his arms. "You have a magic that can destroy a person's mind and nothing to save them?"

"I'm afraid not," Rorek said. "It's very complicated. No one in our line has ever used the spell with evil intent."

Beastboy rolled his eyes. "Except for that psycho. . ."

Rorek of Noll remained silent.

"So there's nothing we can do?" Beastboy said. "I mean you're like a great wizard, right? Aren't you related to Dumbledore?"

"Who?" Rorek said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no wait, he's brothers with Nostradamus."

"I think you have your magical lines mixed up my green friend."

Beastboy shrugged. "Whatever."

Rorek paused. "There is something that may help you," he said. Raising an arm, he barked a single word of power that made the room ripple. A small white light shot out from the deepest parts of the library. Rorek caught it in his hands and held it out to Beastboy. "Take this. It is a one use only spell. It may help you."

"What does it do?" Beastboy said, taking the light from him and holding it in his hands. The light leapt and nestled into his chest. Beastboy gasped. His chest glowed for a moment, then it faded away. "What-!"

"I'm sorry my friend," Rorek said, "but it is a spell that you cannot learn in the usual manner. To know what it does is too great a burden. Therefore-"

"Owwwww," Beastboy muttered while rubbing his head. He opened one eye and chanced a look around. Standing over him was Malchior, holding out a hand. "What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Malchior said. "You appeared to vanish, but you returned in a very short while. Did you see anything?"

"No. . . I don't recall seeing a thing," Beastboy said. "In fact I don't remember finishing the spell to get into the book."

"You might have gotten caught in a temporal loop, and lost a few seconds," Malchior said, much chagrined. Beastboy took his hand and Malchior pulled him up. "I shouldn't have asked you to try it out. It's very possible that only people with a magical background can open the doorway into the library. "

"Dude, they _wonder_ why I don't read much. Books HATE me," he grumbled.

"Maybe we can try again later," Malchior said. "There might be a way for me to compensate for the-" as he was talking he reached out to take the book, there was a flash of light and he jerked his hand back. "Ow! What in the name of Noll?"

"Books apparently hate you too-" Beastboy added, until suddenly the book leapt off of Malchior's table and into his arms. Beastboy was about to drop it but it didn't burn him like it had Malchior. A voice in the back of his mind whispered to him and Beastboy suddenly felt comfortable holding the book. Malchior looked positively miffed.

"Well _that_ has never happened before!" He said. "I don't know what has gotten into it- but for now you'd better hang onto the book."

"What-? Me-!" Beastboy exclaimed. He held out the book with both arms. "Are you kidding me? I stay away from all that magic mumbo-jumbo! I've been sucked into a magic mirror- turned into a lamp- there is no way I'm hanging onto this book! I'll- I'll blow myself up or something!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Malchior said. "The book has a mind of its own. It knows what it's doing," he rubbed his hand, "even if it is little rough when it expresses itself."

Beastboy looked at the worn white cover and the silver markings and wanted nothing more then to take it down to Cyborg's workshop and use a blowtorch on the thing. _We'll see how hot you can handle things, eh Malchior?_ He thought to the dragon inside. If he didn't think the dragon might be freed by his actions, or that the book might still hold a cure for Raven he might have done just that. With things the way they were, though, Beastboy decided to stay on the safe side and keep the book- for now.

Beastboy thought of Raven and her sensitive nature behind her usually gruff demeanor. _She must be going crazy with all of her emotions being right out on her sleeve,_ he realized. Raven was a very private person and her emotions were- well- not. They were the extremes. He'd seen all of them and knew how all of them worked. . . _No, that's not right. I know most of them, but I haven't seen Brown yet._ Beastboy was suddenly curious, then felt guilty. He shouldn't be trying to pry into Raven's mind like that, even if it was out in the open. He should be trying to help _fix_ her mind, he should be trying harder to get this book to work!

Beastboy's Aura darkened in sham and frustration, and Malchior tried to comfort the shape shifter, "You're doing everything you can. No one could say anything to the contrary. I'll see if I can remember any other spells that might help us, but for now I think Raven could probably use some company," Malchior smiled softly at him.

Beastboy tucked the book under one arm. "I dunno. Raven's not usually a 'company' person."

"This really isn't a 'usual' situation," Malchior pointed out.

Beastboy shrugged. "I guess you're right. Maybe I will go talk to her." He shifted from foot to foot. "Mal? Are you and Raven. . . Involved?"

Malchior hesitated a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think we were meant for each other. I have a pretty good sense about these things. Why do you ask?" He gently prodded.

"Why? I- well, because-" he stopped. "I dunno, I guess I was just curious. I've only ever seen Raven in love once and that just. . . Turned out badly."

"Malchior the Dragon," the young sorcerer said quietly. "I know. It hurt her very, very deeply."

Beastboy squeezed the book tightly. "I wish I could have done more to help her," Beastboy muttered to himself. Malchior smiled at him.

"I believe that you did much more then you give yourself credit for," he said. "You were there for her in her time of emotional need. That means more then being by her side during battle ever will."

"I like that," the shape shifter said. "Where'd you learn that?"

"I learned it from someone very near and dear to my heart," the alien said quietly.

"Who?" Beastboy pushed.

Malchior looked up at him with his blind eyes and a saddened expression. "My brother, Rorek."

Beastboy blinked in surprised. From what he had heard of Rorek that didn't sound like something that would come out of that madman's mouth ever. An idea struck him. "Mal, why don't you tell me about him? Rorek I mean. Maybe- just maybe- something you say will help us figure out what he's after.

Malchior sighed. "All right," he agreed, "but it's a very long story, and as much as I'd like to think I know my brother- there's really very little I actually do know about him."

"Sometimes a little bit is all you need," Beastboy said. It was something Robin had told him when they were trying to force information out of some creep who was a small time drug dealer with connections to the big guys. They had followed a tiny bit of information all the way to the top and crippled Jump City's drug rings for a good long time that way. "A little can really go a long way. Trust me, I know."

Robin was speeding along, trying to use the scanner built into his motorcycle to pick up Rorek's energy signature. So far he was having very little luck. "He comes here, attacks Titans East to lure us away, attacks Raven and Malchior, doesn't finish off any of us and doesn't get the book that he's looking for- he _must_ still be around here _somewhere_!" The boy wonder swore. Suddenly his scanner went ballistic. Robin didn't have time to even look at the scanner as suddenly his bike began to skid on a thick sheet of ice that now coated the pavement, despite the fact that it was mid-July.

"You know what they say kiddo- 'seek and ye shall find'," came a wicked laugh. "I really thought you had enough at me over at the other Tower Mr. Robin," Rorek shrugged. Robin leapt off his bike and landed expertly on the slippery surface, as the R-cycle slipped to a stop in a high snow bank that had appeared. Robin was actually surrounded by a high icy arena. "You and your friends should really stop trying to track me down. It's only going to end badly. I'll leave when I'm finished with what I've set out to do, and not a moment sooner."

"What is it that you've 'set out to do'?" Robin demanded.

"I'd tell you, except it would _ruin_ the surprise!" Rorek said with his malicious grin. "Besides," he said, suddenly looking very serious, "you wouldn't like it."

"I'd all ready figured that," Robin snapped, shooting out his Bo staff. "We're going to stop you no matter what!"

"I highly doubt it," Rorek said. He gestured and the ice shot up from the ground and encased Robin up to his arms. "There. That should hold you for a while." He floated up into the air. "You know you're really taking this whole fiasco much too much to heart. Sure, I may have bruised up your buddies a little, but that's no reason to bust out the special equipment," he gestured at the R-cycle's scanner, "and try to hunt me down."

"Well _we_ disagree!" Starfire shouted, looping down from the air with Cyborg in her arms. Terra came rock surfing behind them. Starfire set Cyborg down where he slipped for a few seconds then got his footing and aimed his cannon at Rorek. Terra stayed floating on her rock and Starfire hovered menacingly over Rorek. "You will release Robin this instant!" The alien princess ordered.

The markings around Rorek's eye glowed. "You're making a very grave mistake."

"I don't think so," Terra rumbled. "Seems to me we've got you outnumbered _and_ overpowered."

"Yes, you _would_ think that, wouldn't you?" Rorek laughed. "You haven't fought me, like your friends here have. They know that I'm _quite_ capable of holding my own- and more- against you all." He folded his arms, "I really do have more important things to attend to, and I really can't have any of you interfering with my plans. So I think this time will be the last time we'll meet." Rorek bowed his head slightly and took a deep breath. Without warning the sleeves of his outfit burned off and red markings flared all across his skin. When he looked up the black markings around his eyes were blazing- but they were dull compared to the red eye-like mark that was now showing in the middle of his forehead. "Now, where were we?"

Terra, Cyborg, and Starfire hesitated no longer. Rorek was battered with rocks, blasted by sonic waves and assaulted by green flashes of light. Rorek let out a startled sort of cry and shielded himself with his arms, but he was encased in such a cloud of rubble and smoke that it looked like he would choke to death for sure. After a few minutes the smoke had cleared, but Rorek was nowhere to be seen.

Starfire set down on the ground and melted the ice Robin was encased in. Terra did a small victory dance on top of her rock. "We TOTALLY showed him!" She shouted happily. "High five!" She said, holding out her hand to Cyborg, who obeyed with a huge grin.

"That was too easy," Robin said with a growl. "He's still out there."

"Yeah, but we totally kicked his butt!" Terra said. "He didn't even try to fight back!"

"That worries me the most," Robin muttered. He looked at the other Titans, then towards the setting sun. "Let's get back to the Tower. I want to make sure everything's all right there."

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, who knows where that guy- ow! What the heck?" Cyborg rubbed his head. He held out his hand and it came into contact with a totally transparent solid form. "What is THIS?" He knocked on it, and to his surprise there was an echo. "No way-" Cyborg said, his eyes growing wide. "Terra! Try to rip up some of the ground!"

"Well, sure, but why-"

"Just try!"

Terra raised her arms, her hands glowing. With a mighty yell she tried ripping the ground up- but it wouldn't budge. The ground in the ally glowed golden for a fraction of a second, but that was all. "What's going on?" She asked Cyborg, frantically.

"I think while we were blastin' the bad guy he put us in some kind of force-field box!"

"What!" Robin exclaimed. "How could he? He was being assaulted and he retreated- when did he have the time? We would have seen it happen!"

"I dunno about that man, this guy's not only an Alien, he's a sorcerer. Who knows what he can do!"

Robin pointed upwards, "Starfire, check to see if we can fly out."

The Alien princess flew up at full speed, ready to punch her way through any obstacle. Suddenly there was a sickening 'crack' as Starfire plowed into an invisible barrier and fell to the ground.

"Star!" Robin shouted. He leapt forward and up to catch her. "Star? Are you all right? Star!"

After a few seconds Starfire's eyes opened and she rubbed her head. "I do not think we can go up," she murmured.

"I hate to say this kids, but communication's down too," Cyborg said tapping on his arm. "We all walked right into a trap."

"Damn it!" Robin swore. "Now what do we do? Beastboy is the only one who's in any real condition to fight Rorek, but there's _no way_ he'd be able to take that madman on alone! We HAVE to get out of here!"

Terra walked to the edge of the force field, touching it with her hand. "We will. We just have to think _creativel_y," she said. The ground about ten feet away from the outside of the force field heaved up and pounded on the field.

"Good idea Terra," Cyborg said. "Maybe if we pound on this thing hard enough from both sides it'll give way." He blasted at the side with his cannon. Robin tended to the dazed Starfire as the other two Titans matched each other blow for blow, desperately trying to reach their friends on the outside.

"They're still not back?" Raven asked Beastboy in a hoarse whisper. She had lost control a bit earlier and had run around in her Orange cloak shouting and screaming for all she was worth. She was still embarrassed by the spectacle and was currently in her Gray robes. The worry over her friends wasn't helping other. "They should be back. They should have called."

"I'm sure that the others are all right. I mean think about it- if they had been beaten Rorek would have come tearing in here, taken the book, and would probably be ruling the world by now," Beastboy said, illustrating his point with rapid hand motions and facial expressions. The idea of Rorek ruling the world didn't look all that appealing to the Gray Raven, who seemed to sink deeper inside her cloak.

Malchior, looking at Beastboy's aura, knew that he was just as worried as Raven was- if not more. The idea of Rorek tearing into the tower disturbed them both deeply. Raven would certainly not survive the encounter, and Malchior knew that he and Beastboy didn't stand much of a chance either. Malchior had never had a full fight with his brother since he had been blinded. He had always used his abilities to stay a few steps ahead of his older brother. This time, however, it was different. He had made friends here. He would stay and he would fight until death came to claim his torn soul.

"But their communicators-" Raven began.

"Probably just out of range, or something. Maybe they're fighting now and they can't answer," Beastboy said reassuringly.

Raven paused. "What if- Terra-"

"No!" Beastboy said. "Terra wouldn't do that! I mean, she did, last time, but Slade manipulated her."

"Her aura is true, if troubled," Malchior chimed in. "Terra wouldn't harm you or any of the others."

Raven was sullen and quite after that. They waited and watched the sun set outside the huge windows. After a while Beastboy turned on the TV and changed to the news channel. The trio watched (and listened) in silence until finally Raven stood up.

"I'm going to meditate," she said. "I can't just sit here anymore." Without waiting for a response she left.

"She's distressed," Malchior murmured. "She doesn't think she's going to be able to keep herself in control for very much longer."

Beastboy's ears drooped. "Oh Raven," he said. He felt the urge to get up and go help her, but Malchior put a hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do. She needs some time alone."

Beastboy settled back into his chair and watched the news, looking for any indication of where his friends might be or what Rorek might be doing. After a while the newscasters face grew fuzzy. A while after that, Beastboy's head began to dip. He had to stay awake, he had to make sure that the other Titans were okay. Rorek wasn't going to get to rule to world on his watch, no sir!

A few hours later Beastboy woke up. The TV was still on, but the news was over. A late night talk show was on, and Beastboy sighed. The world hadn't come to an end, but still no word from the other Titans. Malchior had gotten up and left, probably a long time ago. Beastboy turned the TV off and morphed into a cat to stretch. His neck had a crick in it and it was going to drive him crazy.

The sensitive cat ears magnified a background noise that he had thought was the TV. He twitched on ear in a backward direction in order to better hear what was going on. There was a soft melody playing from somewhere deeper in the tower. He remembered hearing it not too long ago and decided to investigate. Turning into a bat so he could hear well he fluttered down the halls, following the noise.

When he found the source Beastboy turned back into himself and paused. The door was labeled "Music Room" a room that the Titans tended to neglect. True, he and Cyborg both had electric guitars, but they barely ever got to use them. As Robin so often pointed out that was probably a good thing. Neither one of them were very good. As far as Beastboy was concerned he thought that Starfire was the only one who ever actually used the room on a regular basis. It held an assortment of, well, _things_ Starfire said were musical instruments, but no sound that ever came out of them made Beastboy think of music. Now, however, a haunting tune was being played on the piano. Beastboy didn't want to barge in on anyone so he turned into a mouse and wriggled under the door.

Hunched over the large black piano in the corner was a figure in a dark cloak. The only light that came into the room was moonlight, and it reflected off of the ivory keys, but not enough to reveal who the player was. Beastboy turned into a small lizard that could see in the dark. The figure was definitely female, and the cloak- possibly a shade of brown. Beastboy turned into himself again. "Raven?" He said quietly.

The piano music stopped and the figure turned. "Oh, Beastboy. I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Raven took down her hood and her face was recognizable in the moonlight. "I can stop-"

"No, no, that was pretty," Beastboy said. "I never knew you played piano."

"Very little, and not often," Raven said. My mother taught me a few songs before she died. The music of Azarath was very beautiful, but I don't do it justice."

"I think you play wonderfully," he said with a gentile smile. "At least Azarath has music that is soothing to the human ear," he thumbed in the direction of Starfire's instruments, "unlike some planets."

Raven chuckled softly. "Everyone to his or her own tastes."

"So Brown is - musical abilities?" Beastboy asked tentatively.

"Creativity," Raven admitted. "Probably one of my most mellow, yet most expressive sides. Whenever I think of something to do in battle, when I play piano, when I try to sculpt something with my powers, it's all part of Creativity."

Beastboy blinked. "You _sculpt_ too?"

Raven turned slightly pink. "Not often," she said. She shifted over on he piano bench. "Here, you can help me. My mother taught me a duet when I was little, but I've never had anyone to play it with me."

Beastboy sat nervously. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I'll show you." She took his hands in hers and placed them on the piano. "Play these keys with your right hand, like this," she demonstrated using her powers to guide his hand. "And with your left you play this as the same time." After a few rounds of controlling his hands she released them from her power. "Now you try."

"Okay. . . ." Beastboy played it well a few times through, then his fingers stumbled, the deep sound resonating from them off and harsh sounding. "Ah, oops. Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay, just try it again."

Beastboy was feeling a bit silly as he played the deep undertones of the song. Suddenly Raven started playing on the higher pitched keys on the piano. Beastboy was surprised to see that Raven had closed her eyes and was listening so deeply to the song that for the first time in a long time she seemed relaxed. He'd never heard a song quite like this. The undertone he was playing was comforting and strong, but the notes Raven played were haunting and sad.

Suddenly Raven began to hum, then to sing softly in a language Beastboy didn't know. The lyrics were just as haunting as the notes she played. There was so much passion behind them. Beastboy had never seen Raven in this light before. It was startling, but somehow wonderful. Suddenly Raven reached a point in the music where she opened her eyes, and Beastboy stopped to look at her. Raven, upon losing the deep undertones, stopped playing and looked over at Beastboy. "What?"

"Uh- I- Nothing! I mean-" _Think Beastboy, think!_ "The song is very pretty. What is it about? What does it mean?"

"It's a love song," Raven said quietly, "part of a story." She closed her eyes again. "It's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. . ." After a moment of quiet she began playing again and Beastboy quickly picked up his part. After a few minutes Raven began singing, this time in English. "While I wait I long for you/ your gentle voice the air I breathe/ and though I know we'll never be/ still my soul calls to yours, and you answer." She paused looking for the right translation. Beastboy kept playing his part, and she joined in again. "I feel my time grow shorter/ and shadows claim my soul/ but they will never hold it/ for when this body turns to dust/ I will live in you/ and when you pass from this world/ I will hold you once again." Raven stopped with a disgusted sound. "It doesn't match up with the melody in any other language," she scowled.

"I think it was spectacular," Beastboy said, smiling. "I never knew you could sing."

"Hardly," Raven muttered, blushing. "My voice is passable when I'm singing it in the original language, but when I sing in English I sound like a dying horse."

"No, this is what a dying horse sounds like," Beastboy said, shape shifting into the large animal and making a strangled sound. He turned back into himself. "That was certainly not a dying horse. That was more like a nightingale. Okay," he said as Raven gave him a skeptical look, "a hoarse nightingale, but a nightingale nonetheless."

"That's sweet of you," Raven said absently. Beastboy wasn't sure, but it looked like Raven's cloak shifted colors for a second.

"Would you keep singing?" Beastboy said hesitantly.

Raven hesitated for a moment. Beastboy began playing his part of the melody. Raven picked up and continued singing in English. "Time will pass/ the seasons change/ and other loves will fade like the setting sun/ but not even my dying day/ will stop my everlasting love."

Raven's playing tapered off with end of the song, and Beastboy's lingered for only a moment more. They both sat in the dark for a few seconds, the haunting melody almost playing itself around them. The changeling reached out across the distance and cupped Raven's cheek with his hand then leaned over to kiss her softly on the lips. Raven was startled by this at first and pulled back slightly, but Beastboy pulled her back into the kiss. Finally, abruptly, she jerked away.

"What are you doing!" She exclaimed, shaking in what Beastboy presumed was some degree of anger, but was actually something more like fear.

"Raven I- I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me-"

"Don't ever- _ever_- do that again!" She said sharply. "EVER!" He cloak flared up and the piano sounded a violent discord, then she melted into the ground and vanished.

"Raven!" Beastboy cried out, but it was too late. She was gone. He hit his head against the keys. Then he sat up and stared at them. "I blew it, big time," he muttered. He plunked out a few song notes on the piano. He had no idea how to play Raven's part of the melody, but he played the part Raven had taught him. Somewhere along the line he tried to sing Raven's part of the melody, using the English lyrics, but realized he couldn't remember them. He sighed.

There was an echoing sigh from behind him.

Beastboy spun around, shocked to see his dark companion had returned. "Raven! You came back?"

"To apologize," she said, sitting down. "I- shouldn't have yelled at you like that but," she stopped then started again, "but the way things are- I don't need any surprises."

"Oh," Beastboy looked away and turned slightly pink around the edges. "I didn't mean to- I dunno what came over me."

They sat with their backs to each other for a while, then Raven said quietly, 'Let's just forget about it for now. After this whole thing blows over, maybe then we can. . . Discuss what happened here tonight."

Beastboy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Okay," he said quietly.

Raven though about getting up, but her head was aching. She could hardly see straight and something- something was coming from the city. Coming fast. Raven's head snapped backwards and she shot onto her feet.

"What? What is it?" Beastboy asked frantically.

"Rorek!" She gasped. "Rorek's coming here! Now!" She looked around frantically. "We had to find Malchior and get him out of here."

"I'll get Mal-" Beastboy said. "_You_ get out of here!"

"What?" Raven exclaimed. "Beastboy, you can't stand up to him alone!"

"I don't plan on it," he said. "But Rorek seems to have a personal vendetta against you, so you need to leave- now!"

"I can't leave you alone-" Raven protested.

"You're the only one who can track the others down without a communicator," Beastboy countered. "You have to find them."

Raven relinquished her authority to Beastboy, though part of her said it was a bad idea. "Fine. I'll find the others, but call me if you need help, understand?"

Beastboy flashed her a smile and a thumbs up. He transformed into a sparrow and flew out the door and after Malchior. Raven's cloak turned to Gray in worry for her friend (she was trying very hard not to think about what had happened with him), but she soared through the ceiling and out onto the roof. There she paused again, and suddenly her body was frozen to the spot.

Raven struggled to pull herself free from whatever invisible force was holding her. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She cried out hoarsely. A bubble of energy formed around her, but still she could not free herself. Then she saw him

Rorek was approaching the bubble. His eyes were cold and steely, his gaze fixed on her. His lips were pressed into a thin line. None of these things scared Raven. It was the marks blazing across his skin and showing through his clothes that made her blood turn to ice. They were familiar to Raven. Very familiar. She had a set of marks on her skin similar to them, but they had been hidden for years. Rorek thrust his hand inside Raven's bubble effortlessly and pulled her out. Raven gasped.

"We are going to have a little chat," Rorek said sternly. "Just you and I, Daughter of Trigon. We have things we need to discuss."

"You're- you're-" Raven stammered in horror. Rorek looked at her coldly.

"We're going to talk," he repeated, and with a flicking movement with his arms he wrapped Raven up in the remains of her energy bubble and flew off with her.

As Raven gazed down at the receding tower she did the only thing she could thing to do. She reached across the distance for Beastboy's mind. Normally this would have been a simple task, but with her shattered psyche it was nearly impossible. _Beastboy!_ She mentally screamed. _Help me!_

Rorek's head whipped around, and he gave her an icy stare, one that made Raven's heart skip a few beats. "Listen to me, Daughter of Trigon, _none_ of your friends can help you." He waved and a portal opened up in front of them. "I _will_ finish what I set out to do."

He and Raven plunged through the hole and into darkness.

Hmm. So just what sinister things are in store for Raven? What exactly is Rorek after if not the book and his brother? And what's up with those demon markings on Rorek? All will be answered in the next chapter.


	6. Truth

In case anyone has forgotten: I don't own the Titans. It would be quite cool if I did. Still, DC, who does own them, does a very good job with them if I do say so myself.

_Once Broken, Twice shattered. . ._

Part Six: Truth

"Raven? RAVEN!" Beastboy shouted. He and Malchior stood on the top of Titan's Tower. Raven's frantic mental cries, so loud just second ago, were now gone- and so was Raven. Beastboy clutched the white book in his hands and looked down at it. "I- I don't understand." He thrust the book into the air and waved it. "Isn't this what he wanted? Isn't this going to give him ultimate, world shattering power that will enable him to become the dictator of the universe? _Isn't this why he's here on this planet!_"

Malchior had to shield himself from the bright green panic Beastboy was projecting. "I don't know. I thought- I presumed- that it was either myself or the book that he was after. . ." Malchior froze. "Someone's coming!" He said, looking over the side of the tower. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. "It's the other Titans."

Beastboy watched as Starfire deposited Cyborg on the roof and Terra and Robin hopped off of a rock. "What's happened?" Robin said immediately, reading Beastboy's expression. "Where's Raven?"

"Rorek- he took her!" Beastboy blurt out. "We can't find her. We've tried everything- the computer, her communicator, even magic spells!"

"Cyborg-" Robin turned.

"All ready on it," Cyborg said. After a moment he frowned deeply. "I can't pick up Ravens power signature or Rorek's."

"But does not the Rorek use enough power to light up the city?" Starfire inquired. "We tracked him before in such a manner."

Cyborg shook his head. "I've got nothing. He might have only been playing with us before, letting us follow him." He tapped his forearm. "The sensors aren't picking up anything now."

Terra's eyes glowed in anger. "He led us away from his real target- Raven!" She said furiously. "We've been duped!"

There was a sudden cold chill in the air. Malchior stepped forward, his expression like chiseled granite. Beastboy felt the book grow warm in his hands. Not an uncomfortable warm, but just noticeable, as if it were a warning. "I will lead you. I will find Rorek," Malchior finally said. "We cannot hide from each other."

Malchior flew into the air with an eerie grace and began flying over the city. Starfire picked up Robin to follow. Cyborg got on a rock with Terra and Beastboy turned into a condor so he could hold the book without having trouble flying. Why he was bringing the book he wasn't sure. Somehow it felt like it was the right thing to do.

Unbeknownst to the Titans, a ball of light collected in Malchior's room. There was a high pitched laugh, and the light shot into the air, following the Titans.

---------

Raven woke up to find that Rorek had removed her cloak and tied her wrists and ankles together. Luckily she was able to sit up fairly easily. She looked around. Wherever she was, the walls and ceiling were covered in huge crystals. For a second she wondered if she was on another planet.

"We're still in Jump City," Rorek the Black divined her thoughts as he entered the room. "In fact this is the cave your friend Terra was trapped in. Actually it's a little deeper down and with some decorative add-ons." He gestured at the crystals which reflected and refracted multiple images of the two of them. "What do you think?"

"You're a psychopath," Raven spat.

"This coming from a woman with a shattered mind! I'm, flattered, really," Rorek bowed.

Despite his unwavering smile and the evil glint in his eyes, Raven got the distinct feeling that he was lying. "What are you up to?"

"You know what the best part about being thought mad is?" Rorek said, ignoring her question. He didn't wait for a response from her either. "You can do something absolutely normal, and it will throw off people so badly they won't know what happened. Madmen are supposed to be totally illogical, but I still think and act in a logical manner."

"So you're trying to tell me you're not a madman?" Raven said sarcastically.

There was a very rapid change in tone from Rorek. Suddenly he didn't sound so wild, and his grin had faded to a somewhat normal expression. "Exactly," he said quietly. "You think that because of the first time we met and the things Malchior has told you. I was worked up at the time we met. Every time I have to fight someone I get quite irate quite quickly."

"Are you trying to _justify_ what you did to me?" Raven nearly shrieked.

"No, that will come later." Rorek said quite seriously.

Raven stared at him in utter confusion. "Why did you take my cloak?"

"I thought you'd appreciate not showing your emotions so visibly. Especially since I'm very good at disguising mine," He stood up straight and pulled her to her feet with his power. He turned his back to Raven and gazed at one large flat shining surface of crystal. Suddenly his hand shot out and the peaceful surface of the crystal turned into a swirl of images. With a flourish Rorek stepped aside as his life splayed itself across the walls. "I have a story to tell you, Daughter of Trigon."

Raven watched the image swirl around, but it was sensory overload. She shut her eyes. "What story? What are you talking about?"

"Look Raven and you will see."

Raven's eyes snapped open. It was not Rorek IV's voice that had spoken. It was Rorek of Noll, Rorek's great- several time over- grandfather's voice. She looked, and the one flat wall showed images that Raven could understand.

"I presume you thought that my father- the one whom I murdered and who's power I 'embraced' was the descendant of Rorek of Noll," Rorek said, folding his arms and looking into the crystal. "Malchior does."

Raven honestly hadn't put too much thought to the matter, but yes, she had assumed that Rorek's father had been from the line of Noll. A woman appeared on the crystal surface. She was delicate and beautiful, tall and caring. Her eyes were blue, like Rorek's, her hair white as snow- just like Malchior. She was wearing random pieces of armor, including a small piece on her chest with a bird carved into it in black.

"This is my mother, Sparrow of Noll," Rorek said, touching the image of his mother gently. "I- I never knew her real name."

Raven's eyes widened at another image that loomed in, swallowing all of the rest of the room up. Four eyes, white hair, and for a second she thought she was staring at her father- then she realized that this demon, no matter how large, was much too small to be Trigon- and his skin was a deeper shade of red. He had armor all over his body. His hair was braided back and his eyes glowed yellow. He suddenly shrank into the form of a large man.

"That is my father. Cicor of the Dark Void. A demon- with whom your father was aquatinted." Rorek turned to look at her. "From what I can tell, your father got the idea of siring a mortal after my father had gotten my mother pregnant. All of us, Malchior, you and I, were born with the intent to become puppets in our fathers' name." He struck out at the crystal and it shattered, splintering the image of Cicor and Sparrow alike. His head dipped beneath his hunched shoulders. He said something so softly Raven had to crane her neck to hear it.

"Her death was all my fault."

------------

When the Titans had managed to catch up with Malchior the alien sorcerer was standing on a spot they knew all too well. It was the entrance to the cave Terra had been petrified in. Now, however, the cave entrance was sealed off with a white crystal of some sort.

"_Hellxspar, doridum, alloris, kacx!_" Malchior shouted, slapping his hand together and then parting them. A crack formed in the middle of the crystal and separated enough so that a person could fit in sideways, but not more. Malchior was straining to hold the entrance open. His muscles tensed, sweat trickled down the sides of his face.

Beastboy looked down at the book in his hands. When Malchior was shouting it had suddenly gotten very hot- then cooled down. _What is up with this thing?_ He wondered.

"Terra!" Robin shouted.

"On it!" The blonde Titan replied. She wedged a rock in the top and bottom of the crystal, effectively jamming the door open. Malchior let the crystal go with a gasp of relief. "Hurry-" Terra said, observing the rocks. "It's not gonna hold for long!"

Cyborg threw himself through the small opening first and the other Titans followed. Beastboy brought up the rear and had to turn into a mouse to dart through the crystal before it crushed Terra's 'doorstops' and snapped shut. Beastboy let out a huge "WHEW" of relief then looked around. "Oh man."

The entire inside of the cave was coated in the mysterious crystal. It created passages everywhere, and there was no way to tell which one was the right one. Malchior swore loudly. "He's here and so is Raven- but I have no idea how to GET to them. I'm sure that these crystals will bounce magic around, as well as anything you could muster up," he nodded at Starfire and Cyborg. He clenched his fist together. "We have to wander through this pathetic maze and hope that we get to Raven on time.

"I could move things around-" Terra began.

"No," Robin said. The last time you were in here there was a cave in. It's possible that the geological structure of the area hasn't stabilized yet. Moving things around might bring the whole thing down on top of us."

"Plus it'll let Rorek know we're here," Beastboy pointed out. "Hopefully he doesn't know. Yet."

"Somehow I doubt that," Robin informed the changeling, "but it's a good idea to stay optimistic."

"It's about the only thing we can do," Cyborg said.

"Let's split up," Robin said. Cyborg, you're with me. We'll head this way. Beastboy, Terra, you're together. Malchior, Starfire, you take that way over there. All of you, keep your communicators on and stay safe," he ordered. "Whomever finds Rorek first- _don't_ engage him in a fight. Just get Raven out of there and get going." He looked around at the Titans, fearful that he might be sending them to their deaths. "Teen Titans- GO!" He cried out. The team split apart into three groups and they began running through the tunnels.

-----------------

"You- you killed your mother!" Raven exclaimed.

"NO!" Rorek roared, "I would never hurt her!" He shouted. "Never," he said as his voice faded to a whisper. "My mother was a good woman, and she was in love with Cicor no matter how evil he was to her, but when he tried to take her second son away, she fought against it. She was knocked aside and fa- fath- Cicor was going to snatch up Malchior. He would have taken me, but I had defied him all my life, something he wanted to avoid again by taking Mal with him at such a young age. I didn't want him to leave after hurting my mother. I screamed at him, struck out at him, and then-"

In a thousand different images along the walls Rorek was swatted aside by the massive demon Cicor. Cicor raised a clawed hand. **_"You insolent whelp! You dare treat your father this way? I will make you respect my power!"_ **he roared, the then claws came down, but not on Rorek.

Sparrow's last look of horror was imprinted on Rorek's mind so strongly that he wept upon recalling it. "She was killed and it was all my fault. My father took Malchior and left," Rorek's eyes flashed with fire and he clenched his fist, "but I wouldn't let him go that easily."

-------------------

"Beastboy!" Terra called out, waving her arms. "Look!" She pointed. Beastboy rushed over and his eyes followed Terra's gestured. He felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. Hanging suspended in a case of crystal was Raven's cloak. It was a deep gray in color.

"Stand back-" Beastboy said, turning into an ape. He lifted his hands above his head, ready to unleash a thundering blow. Terra shouted something about the geological instability Robin had mentioned but Beastboy was too furious to listen. His fists came crashing down on the crystal, shattering it. The cloak fluttered to the ground and Beastboy caught it. "Raven," he said, clutching the cloak. "She must be nearby!" He exclaimed. "We have to find her!"

Terra paused to look at Beastboy. He was all ready charging ahead, but he stopped when he realized she wasn't following. He turned to look at her, concern drifting over his face.

"Terra? Are you okay?"

She nodded and said in a pathetic tone, "Yeah! Of course. I'm fine." Beastboy was about to say more when she added, "Let's find Raven before Rorek does any more damage to her."

"Right-" he said uneasily. "Terra listen-" he began, but an abrupt color change from gray to yellow in the cloak made him wary. "This is very weird. The cloak is changing colors even without Raven. . ."

"Yellow is better than gray I suppose," Terra said. "So maybe Raven is all right. We might still have time to save her!"

Beastboy nodded. "Yeah! Hurry- let's go!"

The two Titans rushed down the crystal hallway, hoping that they would be on time to save their friend.

----------------

"You bested your father by embracing your demonic power, but not becoming a slave to it," Raven said, suddenly understanding some of the mysterious man in front of her. "Is that even possible?"

"Yes," Rorek said. "Otherwise I would not be here today."

Another crystal wall picked up where the other had left off. A young Rorek, with his demon symbols blazing across his skin, was engaged in fighting Cicor. The battle was astonishing to watch. Even the images radiated power. In the end Rorek jus barely managed to repel his father's most powerful blow and redirect the power back upon the demon himself using a spell. The image became fuzzy, as if Rorek had a hard time remembering what happened next, but he found his brother and staggered off.

"Mal was the only thing that kept me alive," Rorek said. "I had to live- to make sure he lived. No one would take us in. Not as many people know about Cicor as know about Trigon, but there are enough. Malchior would never be taken in by anyone else."

Raven shook her head. "You've- you've got to be making this up! This is insane! You shattered my mind- my powers are haywire I can't control my emotions-"

Rorek turned on her, eyes blazing. "Your mind was all ready shattered Raven. You allowed that to happen a long time ago, when you broke off from your demonic side entirely. I had to augment the problem to make you see things clearly- _you cannot keep denying what you are!_"

Shaken, knowing he was right, Raven still managed to say "No, but I can damn well try."

---------------

"Are you all right friend Malchior?" Starfire asked quietly. The young sorcerer had stopped quite suddenly and had not responded when Starfire had called his name. Now the alien turned to her.

"I have a very- uneasy feeling," he said slowly. "And I feel sick to my stomach." He did indeed look quite pale and Starfire saw he was sweating much like he had a fever.

"If you need assistance I can carry you. You must save your strength. We will need you to help us defeat your brother," the alien princess offered.

"My brother," Malchior repeated, and even though he didn't have pupils Starfire could have sworn his eyes glazed over for a second. "_Rorek_," he said in a tone of voice Starfire wasn't sure she liked.

"Maybe we should rest for a moment," Starfire suggested.

"No," Malchior said, his voice strange. "I've waited a long time for this. We _will_ find Rorek." Without any trace of the illness he appeared to have before, Malchior sailed quietly down the hallway with perfect confidence. Starfire followed reluctantly.

_Something is up_, she thought to herself. _Oh I wish Robin was here!_

---------------

"I think I've got it!" Cyborg said as he and Robin rounded a corner. "Raven's communicator waves are bouncing around everywhere, but I'm pretty damn sure that I've finally- tracked it- down-"

He and Robin stopped and stared at the communicator, frozen in crystal, mocking them from inside its pristine case.

Robin punched the crystal wall in frustration. "He's thought of EVERYTHING!" He shouted furiously. "How are we supposed to find her?" He turned to go back the way they had come, since they were now at a dead end. "How are we supposed to fight this guy!"

"I don't know man-" Cyborg said quietly. "But Raven's tough, she won't give in without a fight. Right now I think she's still probably okay. I mean we haven't heard explosions or anything yet."

"That isn't very comforting," Robin said darkly. "Raven could be seriously injured or even-"

"Don't even joke like that man!" Cyborg said sharply. "Raven's strong, she can take care of herself."

"Her powers and her emotions are going haywire!" Robin said, running down another crystal hallway. "Who knows what that maniac could have done to-"

He was cut off by the high pitched scream of Starfire in pure agony.

------------------

Rorek threw his hands up. "You give me no choice then! I cannot allow you to have such a dangerous power, and yet not tame it and bend it to your will! You've forced my hand!" He held his arms out wide, looked directly at Raven, and then- stopped.

"The others you killed- they were all demons, weren't they?" Raven said softly, watching him tremble. "The people Malchior said you had murdered. . ."

"Malchior was so attached to the idea that I was a monster he never looked past the crimes to see the reason," Rorek said his arms falling to his sides. He walked up to a wall of crystal, and leaned his head against it. "But the ones I killed, they were always full demons, or they had become so twisted by their demon blood that they were no better." He looked over towards her. "And you're not. I came here to find you, to kill you. You are the Daughter of Trigon the Terrible. Surely, I thought, you would be the worst one out of the whole lot. I thought you were for a while after I had arrived here. That scene where you nearly attacked your friend at the restaurant- when you nearly killed Mal- I thought you were hiding your true nature in order to get close enough to kill the heroes of the world."

"You were watching?"

Rorek turned back to her. His usual grin had totally dissipated within the past few minutes, and Raven was beginning to see just how much like Malchior he really looked. He had the same troubled expression, and his eyes, though piercing, were almost as kind looking. "Of course I was. I always make sure I know who my target is. I wouldn't want to kill an innocent." He took a few steps back towards her. "When I realized that you wouldn't willingly help Trigon, and yet his power threatened to overwhelm you, I made it my project to help you."

"_So you shattered my mind!_" Raven shrieked, overwhelmed with fury. "That's how you decided you could _help_ me?"

"Because the only way to bring everything back together is to accept the powers your demon blood offers you-" Rorek said, leaning over so his face was on the same level as hers, "-and _conquer_ it!"

"If I even give him a fragment of leeway, he'll take over!" Raven retorted. "I won't give him that kind of power!"

Rorek closed his eyes. "Then is it really worth it? Would you live, putting your friends- the entire world in such danger, instead of dying to save it? "

Raven fell silent. It was something she had been wrestling with since their defeat of her father a while ago. Raven knew he wasn't gone for good. . . She just hadn't been able to tell the others that quite yet. She knew that if she let her guard down she was still likely to try and destroy them. How could she explain that to them? They had gone through so much and yet it might have been for nothing. . .

"You see my point then," Rorek said, cutting into her thoughts.

"Yes," she said quietly. It was out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. "But I've been able to do good things-"

The scream made them both turn. "What was that-?" Rorek began while Raven gasped "Starfire!" Then she turned on Rorek. "You've lied to me! This entire time you've been lying to me! _What have you done to my friend!_"

Rorek rounded on her, his eyes blazing. "_I NEVER LIE!_" He bellowed, and Raven fell silent. "I've done nothing to permanently injure your friends and this cave was constructed as a maze, not a trap-"

The sounds of battle erupted violently. It was about five seconds before they discovered what was going on as the crystal walls shattered around them in a symphony of breaking glass.

---------------

About a minute after Starfire had suggested a rest to Malchior she knew something was wrong. It wasn't the fact that he was holding himself differently. It wasn't the fact that when he spoke to himself in mumbled tones it sounded like he had two different voices. It wasn't even the markings that began to appear slowly on his skin. It was when he turned around and looked at her, straight in the eye- _really_ looked at her. Starfire knew Malchior was actually seeing her, and if that wasn't a dead giveaway the extra set of glowing red eyes to match his normal eyes (which were now glowing as well) made Starfire realize all too quickly that she was in deep, deep trouble.

"Rob-" she began in a panic, but Malchior's hands were around her throat before the word was out.

"**_Your silly little friends can't help you,_**" Malchior said, a harsh, deep voice layering above his own. "**_I daresay you'll find that I'm not so easy to defeat as Trigon!_**"

Despite a few seconds of battling with her conscious Starfire used her eye blasts to fire right at Malchior's head. It had the desired effect. Roaring in anger Malchior dropped Starfire, and she fell to the floor, gasping for a few breaths of air. "I do not wish to hurt you, please- you must stop!" She shouted at Malchior.

"**_You have no idea what you're dealing with Tameranian,_**" Malchior said. Then with a few words that sounded more like growls Malchior threw a ball of light at her. Starfire scrambled to avoid it, trying to take to the air, but it hit her on the leg. For a moment there was nothing- then every blood vessel in her body felt like it had burst into flames. She screamed, a piercing sound of pure agony, but it was cut off when Malchior struck her again. The alien princess lay slumped against a crystal wall.

"_STARFIRE!_" Robin screamed as he came running into the room. He rushed to her side while Cyborg armed himself and looked around wildly.

"Where is he!" Cyborg shouted at Malchior. "Where's Rorek?"

"**_Not here. I'm taking care of you first,_**" Malchior said. Cyborg's eyes went wide with shock, and he just managed to dodge another ball of light Malchior had thrown. Cyborg swore loudly.

"Robin! We've got Big Trouble!" Cyborg yelled.

"I had noticed!" Robin replied as he tried to haul Starfire to a safe spot.

"Calling all Titans, calling all Titans!" Cyborg shouted into his arm. "We need major backup- _NOW_!"

"**_Feh- call all the help you want. You are of no consequence,_**" Malchior boomed.

"I thought you were on our side!" Cyborg shouted.

"**_Malchior perhaps-_**" Malchior replied, "**_but he's 'occupied' at the moment. You may address me, however briefly, as Cicor._**"

"Sonic boom!" Robing shouted at Cyborg. His companion charged up his cannon, and with perfect timing they executed their trademark maneuver. Malchior- or Cicor- stumbled backwards, throwing his hands over his ears.

"**_THAT IS IT!_**" He snarled. Throwing his arms out, Malchior bellowed a single, alien word. Robin and Cyborg barely had time to throw their arms up to protect themselves before they were smashed into the nearest wall and they too slumped like Starfire. "**_Now, onto more pressing matters-_**" Malchior said. With that he threw his hand out again and the walls in front of him began to explode into pieces.

----------------

The truth be told, Beastboy knew something was terribly wrong even before Starfire did, which, in any other situation, would have made him extremely proud. In this case, however, he only felt terribly frightened. He was already on edge, as Terra was giving him a running commentary on the color changes in Raven's cloak ("It's still yellow- wait a second- it's gray, gray- yellow again- whoa! Look at that red!"), so when he started hearing voices he nearly freaked out. It started out as a quite whisper he thought was the wind, but suddenly it became clear.

_'Cicor, Cicor, Cicor, beware Cicor, beware!_'

"Did you hear that?" Beastboy said, turning to Terra.

"Hear what?"

"There was someone telling us to 'beware Cicor'."

"What the heck's a Cicor?"

Beastboy shrugged. He frowned, wondering why he was sweating so much all of a sudden, until he realized that the book, which he had been toting along with him all his time, was glowing and emitting large amounts of heat. Beastboy stretched his arms out in front of him to look at it.

'_CICOR IS HERE! CICOR HAS COME! BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE CICOR!_"

With a yelp of surprise Beastboy dropped the book. "Holy crap-!" He said.

"Beastboy-" Terra began, suddenly ignoring the cloak, "-is it supposed to do that?"

Beastboy followed Terra's line of sight to see the book, which should have hit the floor, floating at least three feet above the floor. "I- don't think so. . ." Beastboy ventured a guess. "Maybe-"

He was cut off by Starfire's scream.

"Star!" Terra said, turning in circles. "Oh man- which way do we go?"

"I don't know-" Beastboy said frantically. "We've gotta find Raven too-"

Their communicators crackled and suddenly Cyborg's voice cut in. "Calling all Titans, calling all Titans! We need major backup- _NOW_!"

"You go Terra!" Beastboy said. "I've gotta find Raven!"

"Are you nuts!" Terra demanded. "How are you going to find her?"

Beastboy waved at the book. "I think it'll be able to show me the way."

Terra looked at him dumbfounded. "Are you- you must be-" she shook her head. "Never mind. I'll find the others. You find Raven!" She jumped into the air, a rock sailing up to meet her feet halfway. With a bellow of "I'm coming!" She sailed down the crystal corridors.

Beastboy reached out to take the book. As soon as he touched it he was assaulted by a series of images. Through his mind's eye Beastboy saw exactly how to follow the turning and twisting maze of corridors to find Raven. Snatching up the cloak which Terra had abandoned, Beastboy bolted down the hallways, book and cloak tucked under his arm. Soon he carried them in his mouth as he darted along as a cheetah, hoping to get to Raven in time.

He never would.

---------------

Rorek had thrown some sort of barrier around himself and Raven, which Raven probably would have appreciate more if she wasn't still tied up. Even so, it protected them both from the shattering crystal, but not from the shock that followed it. Raven felt her heart leap into her throat as Malchior stepped into the room- four glowing eyes burning with malice.

"**_Hello Son,_**" Cicor said, with Malchior's voice saying "Hello brother," underneath it somehow. Raven stared, horrified, but not nearly as horrified as Rorek.

"Impossible- _impossible!_" Rorek shrieked. "I killed you before you could take hold on Mal! I know I did!"

"**_You underestimated me I'm afraid,_**" Malchior laughed. "**_True, my hold was barely there, but over the years as Malchior began to believe you were evil, I was able to creep in. I latched onto the one thing we had in common- our hate for you!_**"

Rorek became very quite and subdued with fear. "No- Mal- Mal doesn't _hate_ me. He- he thinks I'm a monster, yes but _hate?_"

"He's trying to distract you!" Raven shouted, snapping Rorek back to his senses.

"I've killed you in your own body- I can drive you out of Mal's!" Rorek bellowed, throwing a great deal of power at Malchior. Barely batting an eye, Malchior deflected it.

"**_Why don't you _sit down_ for a while!_**" Malchior boomed, and Rorek went tumbling across the room into one of the crystals sticking out form the floor. Raven hear something crack in a sickening way, and Rorek ceased to move.

"AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!" Raven shouted, throwing all the strength she could muster into her attack.

"**_Gaaaaahhh!_**" Malchior screeched. He fell back, stumbling over shards of crystal. When he regained his balance the remains of her attack was steaming off him like black smoke. He picked her up. "**_Insolent wretch! Spawn of Trigon! I will NOT be treated like that!_**"

Raven desperately tried to wriggled out of her ties. "Azarath, metrion-"

Malchior spoke one word, "**_ENOUGH_**," then pulled his arms back.

Raven remembered vividly the last time she had seen someone make that motion.

"Azarath metrion zinthos! Azarath metrion zinthos!" She repeated fearfully.

Malchior thrust his arms forward, and the wave of energy washed over her. For a second her mind was a jumbled mess of confusion. Then it simply exploded into shattered fragments of memory. When that evolved into pure pain, she realized that Malchior was moving out of the room.

"**_Now, to finish what I started. Once the Titans are taken care of I can conquer this world like Trigon never could._**"

Raven tired to open her moth, but somehow could find any words to speak. The world was a blur of color and pain. Still, there was a familiar green blur that came running into the room after Malchior had gone. Raven tried to call out to him, but only a strangled garble came out.

Beastboy saw Raven on the ground and dropped everything to throw his arms around her. "Raven! Raven, speak to me! Please Rae, don't do this!" He hadn't noticed Rorek lying on the ground still and he hadn't seen Malchior at all. Even if Malchior was still in the room it wouldn't have mattered. All Beastboy could see was Raven. Her pupils were so small, they almost weren't there. There was blood trickling gently from her ears. Behind him, Raven's cloak was turning a disturbing shade of black. "Raven, please, speak to me!"

"Be- Beastboy. . ." Raven finally managed to gasp out. She couldn't see him very well, there was a shadow creeping in along the edge of her vision and getting larger. "I'm sorry-" she choked out.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Beastboy asked. She shuddered violently and he screamed her name. "RAVEN! NO!"

Raven tried so hard to say something, but she couldn't think or feel. Out of her throat came only a muffled noise. Her whole world now was shadows and pain, and this strange, cold, numbing feeling that was creeping over her. She tired to fight it off, but it pounced upon her senses, and then there was nothing at all.

Beastboy felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. He tore off the ropes that still bound her and hugged her body to him like a rag doll. He wasn't sure how long he sobbed over her lifeless form, but it felt like an eternity, and perhaps it really was.

((Authors Note: this is not the end of the story folks! Expect the Final Chapter soon.))


	7. Till Death

((Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans. Never did. Probably never will. This is the last full chapter in 'Once Broken, Twice Shattered.' I hope you all enjoy it.))

The pounding in his head wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

The pain in his arm, which wouldn't move, was also annoying.

However, neither of these things was all that important to him at the moment.

Not even the fact that his brother was out there on a rampage seemed significant.

The snarling, screaming green beast that held him up by the neck was another story.

"**_MURDERER!_**" It roared.

"Please-" Rorek tried to gasp, but the creature constricted his windpipe even more.

"**_YOU KILLED HER!_**" It shrieked.

Rorek moved his one functioning arm to pull the creature's hand away from his throat but he didn't have the strength. "I- I didn't- please listen-"

"**_YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!_**"

If he wasn't in such dire straits, Rorek would have laughed when the book once belonging to his great-several-times-over grandfather beaned the creature in the head, but as it were he just stared at the book where it fell.

The creature's green face snapped around to look at it. It snarled. "**_WHAT IS THIS- SOME SORT OF STUPID PARLOR TRICK?_**"

"I can only do magic when I have- when I have two functioning arms- and no concussion," Rorek gasped. "I assure you the fact that I can't see straight- and that I think my right arm is entirely shattered- means I couldn't even pick up a pencil with my powers let alone-" the book flew up and smacked Beastboy in the head again, "- a book." Rorek finished.

Beastboy dropped him and he crashed to the floor, groaning. The changeling assumed his normal form. "What's going on?" He shouted. "Why's that thing acting like it's got a mind of it's own?"

"I- I don't know."

Beastboy roared as he turned into the monstrous creature again and picked Rorek up by both shoulders. "**_WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU DON'T KNOW'?_**"

"I was knocked senseless by my brother, I don't even know what happened to Raven-"

"**_DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME YOU FILTHY MURDERER!_**" Beastboy roared, slamming him up against the wall. Rorek cried out in pain.

"My brother is possessed by our father, the demon Cicor! He's trying to kill your friends!" Rorek shouted. "Just like he killed Raven and he tried to kill me!"

Beastboy stopped. "Malchior? Malchior killed her!" He said in shock, turning abruptly back into his normal form. "You're lying!" He shouted.

"I never lie," Rorek said. "I just omit things. Everything Malchior said about me is true. I've killed people. I murdered our father. But those people and my father- they were demons in disguise."

"I don't believe- OW! STOP IT!" Beastboy shouted at the book. He grabbed the ancient tome, and suddenly his mind was flooded with images.

_"So you know if there's a spell to fix Raven's mind?" Beastboy said eagerly._

_Rorek paused. "There is no such spell. Raven's mind cannot be restored to the way it was before Rorek the Black inflicted that damage upon her."_

_"What?" Beastboy exploded. "You've got to be kidding me! How can there no be some sort of- some sort of antidote? Some sort of counter spell!" He waved his arms. "You have a magic that can destroy a person's mind and nothing to save them?"_

_"I'm afraid not," Rorek said. "It's very complicated. No one in our line has ever used the spell with evil intent."_

_Beastboy rolled his eyes. "Except for that psycho. . ."_

_Rorek of Noll remained silent._

_"So there's nothing we can do?" Beastboy said. "I mean you're like a great wizard, right? Aren't you related to Dumbledore?"_

_"Who?" Rorek said, raising an eyebrow. _

_"Oh, no wait, he's brothers with Nostradamus."_

_"I think you have your magical lines mixed up my green friend."_

_Beastboy shrugged. "Whatever."_

_Rorek paused. "There is something that may help you," he said. Raising an arm, he barked a single word of power that made the room ripple. A small white light shot out from the deepest parts of the library. Rorek caught it in his hands and held it out to Beastboy. "Take this. It is a one use only spell. It may help you."_

_"What does it do?" Beastboy said, taking the light from him and holding it in his hands. The light leapt and nestled into his chest. Beastboy gasped. His chest glowed for a moment, then it faded away. "What-!"_

_"I'm sorry my friend," Rorek said, "but it is a spell that you cannot learn in the usual manner. To know what it does is too great a burden. Therefore I'm going to have to blank out your mind after this."_

_"What is that supposed to mean?" Beastboy said in a panic. "You're going to fry my brain?"_

_"I'll have to remove some memories."_

_"Whoa, whoa!" Beastboy threw up his hands. "Remove memories?"_

_"Just a few of this conversation."_

_"Why? What can't I remember?"_

_"If I tell you that, I'll have to erase them for sure."_

_Beastboy paused. "Dude, I like my brain they way it is."_

_"Then Raven will never be whole again," Rorek of Noll said simply. _

_"Wait- I thought this spell was supposed to HELP Raven?"_

_"It will, but-" Rorek of Noll paused._

_"But what?" The Changeling demanded._

_"It's not the kind of spell you think it is. It can't mend her mind."_

_"Then _why _are you giving it to me? What the heck _does _it do?" Beastboy shouted._

_"It's a resurrection spell."_

_The silence that greeted these words stretched out indefinitely. Finally Beastboy touched his chest where the spell had settled. "A- a **what**_!_"_

_"Resurrection spell," Rorek repeated._

_"I heard you the first time but- but- doesn't that mean Raven has to-" His eyes went wide. "No. No, no, no, no, no! I _won't _kill her."_

_"You won't."_

_"Good-"_

_"Malchior will."_

_"_WHAT!_" Beastboy exploded. "Mal would never hurt a fly! I should know, I've been a fly around him!"_

_"Mal is like Raven in more ways than you may think. They both have similar a lineage," Rorek said slowly. "Malchior's mother was from the line of Noll. Malchior's father- the one Rorek killed- was a demon called Cicor."_

_Beastboy's eyes looked ready to fall out of his head and his ears twitched with shock. "Demon? You mean- Rorek killed his father not because **Rorek **is evil-"_

_"But because his **father** was," Rorek of Noll said quietly. "The name Rorek the Black originally came from the fact that Rorek's hair was black, even when both his parents had white hair."_

_"No way. No way!"_

_"Rorek doesn't realize it- but Cicor still has a hold on his brother. Much like Trigon had- maybe still has, over Raven."_

_"Ignoring the Trigon comment," Beastboy said quickly, not wanting to think about **his** possible return. "What kind of influence are we talking about?"_

_"He could use Malchior as his Avatar." Beastboy looked at Rorek of Noll blankly. "Like a mouthpiece, or a puppet. He could take over Malchior's body and wreak havoc."_

_"So what can I do to stop him!"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Nothing!" Beastboy exploded. "Why'd you tell me all this then!"_

_"So you would understand when the time came." Rorek of Noll held up his hands. "Now, forget this, until that time."  
"No- wait- this isn't fair!" Beastboy exploded._

He opened his eyes to see the shattered crystal chamber, Raven's broken body, and Rorek trying to pull himself away with one arm. "Stay _there!_" He barked at Rorek. "I might need you, and if you go wandering off your brother is sure to see you and _kill_ you this time."

"I was rather under the impression that _you_ were going to kill me," Rorek informed him.

Beastboy shook his head. "I understand everything now," he said. "I understand." He rushed over to Raven's body. "Raven! Raven! It's time to wake up. It's time to come back to us-!" She moved like a rag doll as he lifted her and pushed her hair out of her face. Beastboy thrust his chest out experimentally. "Come on! Out with you!"

Rorek watched in fascination, somewhere between being awed by the spectacle and just plain confused. "Are you really sure you don't want to kill me?" He asked.

Beastboy glared at him.

"I think I'll sit here then," Rorek said. "Not like I'd get very far anyway."

"Raven? Raven! Rae?" Beastboy began again. "Please Rae, wake up. I'll sing if you don't wake up. You know how much you hate that," he added quietly, looking at her face, "Don't make me sing."

Rorek said sadly, quietly, "I hate to break this to you my chartreuse companion, but your friend is-"

"_Don't say it!_" Beastboy shrieked. Then he added wildly "When's this spell supposed to kick in!"

Rorek eyed him strangely. "And people think I'm mad," he said to himself.

After a few more desperate moment of waving his hands in the air, saying things like "Abracadabra!", "Alakazam!" and even a "Mumbo-jumbo!" or two, and threatening Raven with all sorts of annoyances, Beastboy slowly became resigned to the fact that the spell wasn't working. If anything Raven was just getting colder. Beastboy scrambled and got her cloak, wrapping it around her body and cradled Raven close. "Why? Why her?" He sobbed. "Wasn't Trigon enough? Why did she have to suffer like this!"

There was no answers.

-----------------------

It was very, very dark. In fact, when Raven opened her eyes, she wasn't sure she had opened them at all. The only thing that distinguished itself from anything else was the bright circle of light that she seemed to be laying on. When she stood up the circle shrunk a little and when Raven moved, it moved with her.

"Beastboy?" Raven said into the darkness. She could have sworn he had been there only a few moments ago. The last thing she remembered him saying was 'Sorry for what?' and then all of a sudden- this.

Maybe this was some sort of pocket dimension. She could be trapped by a spell Malchior- or his demon father- had inflicted upon her. Rather than just sit there Raven decided to walk in one direction, looking for anything.

She walked for hours without getting hungry or tired but she didn't get anywhere at all. Her powers weren't working, and neither was her communicator. That single circle of light she walked on could be the only solid thing in the entire place, every time she tried to touch the ground to see if she could feel anything the circle expanded to encompass her hand.

Finally the nothingness got to her. Raven ran.

She ran as fast and as hard as she could for as long as she could stand. Then she turned around, a full three-sixty, and, upon seeing nothing, gave up and sat on the ground.

"_Where am I!_" she shouted into the darkness. It felt like her words were simply swallowed by the great black expanse. She got up and started bellowing. "Beastboy? Robin? Starfire? Cyborg?" She turned around again. "Terra? Malchior?" Finally she threw her arms up in the air. "Rorek! _Anybody!_"

"I'm here."

Raven turned around in a panic, throwing herself into a battle stance. She was ready to take on whatever this void threw at her, but she was not prepared for what she saw. There was an older man standing in front of her. He looked to be in about his fifties, but he could have been much older or much younger, his face was hard to describe in that sense. He smiled at Raven in a fatherly sort of way. He was wearing a white cloak almost exactly like Raven's, though under it he wore a monk's attire. Raven gaped.

"Azar-" she managed to breathe, then began to bow immediately. Azar caught her arm and pulled her back up.

"Now Raven, everyone's on equal footing here. There's no need for anything like that. Besides, I was never anything more than a simple monk."

"You were the greatest leader Azarath has ever known!" Raven protested.

Azar smiled sadly. "Azarath is gone Raven. I am, once again, just a monk." He held out a hand to her. "Come. We've got a long way to go."

"Where are we going?" She asked, coming up besides him. "There's nowhere _to_ go."

"Yes there is-" Azar said, sweeping his arm out. Raven followed the gesture and saw a bright path of light, encased in a rainbow hall.

"That wasn't here just before!" Raven said. "I looked everywhere for any. . . thing. . ." She trailed off as she looked behind her and saw that she was now inside what appeared to be a great cathedral, resembling a building she had seen when she was a very young girl. "What's going on?"

Azar smiled. "You're taking a very special trip. Don't worry. I'm here to guide you."

"What about Beastboy and the others?"

"Don't _worry_ so much," Azar said with a kind smile. "You'll see them again. I promise."

Relieved, Raven followed Azar as he slowly walked down the winding golden path, encouraged by the fact that the darkness was behind her.

-----------------------

Terra didn't look good. She was bleeding from the side of her head, and she was sprawled against a wall of the crystal cave. Even if she had been conscious enough to complain about her condition, she would have to note that in comparison to some of the other Titans, she was doing very well.

Cyborg looked not unlike the Scarecrow from _The Wizard of Oz_ after his encounter with the flying monkeys. His arms were trying their hardest to get back to him, despite one being pinned under one of his legs and the other being wielded like a cudgel by a very angry Starfire.

"You will let Robin go _this instant_!" She yelled at Malchior, bringing the arm down on his head several times rapidly.

"**_Insect!_**" Malchior spat, throwing Robin into her. The two Titans joined Terra in a growing pile. Cyborg's right arm finally reached him and connected, his left arm walked around in dizzying circles, seemingly confused after the abuse it was put through.

"**_I tire of this,_**" Malchior snarled. "**_It is time to be done with you!_**"

"I know you're in there Malchior!" Robin yelled, pulling himself off of Starfire. "You've got to fight this! You're our _friend_, you're not _evil!_"

Starfire helped a groggy Terra to her feet. "Anybody get the license of that demon?" she said, a little dizzy.

Starfire, puzzled, said "I do not believe he has a license to get friend Terra. Are you all right?"

"Hey guys!" Cyborg interrupted. "I could use my other hand over here! And my legs too!" he added.

Starfire fetched Cyborg's rogue body parts, while Terra went over to back up Robin. The leader of the Titans was still trying to reason with Malchior, who looked more and more irate with every shout.

"**_This useless prattle will not earn you a stay of execution Titan!_**" Malchior spat at Robin.

"Then why haven't you killed me?" Robin retorted.

"**_I've all ready killed Raven! What makes you think I won't kill you?_**"

The Titans in front of him all stopped dead. "You're bluffing," Robin said, but his voice was less confidant than usual.

"**_It was easy. I just broke her mind further- destroyed it completely._**" Malchior laughed at their terrified expressions. "**_It was just as easy, and as effective, as snapping her neck._**"

"You _monster!_" Terra shouted suddenly. Robing tried to grab her arm and pull her back, but she charged forward, throwing all her power and her rage into one huge wall of rock tearing right through the ground of the crystal cave. It pounded against Malchior's body, smashing him directly into a wall. After a long period of silence, Terra slumped to the ground in exhaustion and tears.

"He killed Raven! I never go to- I never go to prove that I was- that I was sorry," she moaned. "She- she didn't kill me for it- for what I did to her- she just- she just accepted my apology. . ."

"Starfire floated over and put her arms around Terra. "It is okay, Friend Terra. I am sure that Malchior was mistaken. Raven is not so easy to kill."

"I don't think he could have killed anyone if her tried," Robin said, sadly gazing upon the pile of rocks where Malchior had been standing moments before. "I think that Malchior as fighting the influence of Cicor. If I could have gotten through to him we might have been able to-"

The rocks in front of them exploded with such force that they were all knocked askew, and shards cut their skin. Malchior stepped out into the chamber again, his four red eyes blazing.

"**_You cannot kill me!_**" he bellowed. "**_Even if you destroy this body I can animate my son's corpse! Now, pay for your defiance with your miserable lives!_**" He moved his arms in a grand gesture and fire erupted in front of the Titans, chasing them down.

"Run!" Robin shouted. Terra grabbed his arm and they went rock surfing ahead. Cyborg grabbed the one leg he hadn't reconnected yet and Starfire grabbed him. They took to the air moments before they would have been consumed by flames. Malchior walked after them, the flames extending around and in front of him, like an unholy halo of death.

"**_This world will be mine, and all its people my prey!_**" He laughed.

----------------------

They had been walking along the golden path for what seemed like forever when Raven felt a sudden chill trickle down her spine. She was vaguely remembering what had happened right before she found herself in the darkness.

"Azar, how long until we reach the end of this road? I have to warn my friends about Malchior!"

Azar kept looking straight ahead. "They all ready know. Don't concern yourself with these things."

"I have to help hem fight!"

"They can fight the battle without you," Azar replied.

Raven, slightly irate now, returned "They can fight him, sure, but they can't _win_!"

"Do you really have such little faith in your friends?" Azar asked.

"It's not that I don't have faith in them. I've seen what Malchior can do!" Raven shouted.

"You're making this much harder then it has to be. Restless souls have a way of lengthening their paths. You have to let go of your life, Raven. there's nothing you can do now."

For a moment Raven didn't quite understand and she walked besides him, half fuming, half confused. Then she stopped dead in the middle of the road. All the blackness came back in a sudden rush, though the golden path still stayed. Azar stood upon it, and turned around to look at Raven.

"No," she said quietly, her face even paler than it normally was. "No. . . it can't be."

Azar reached out to her. "Raven, we have a long way to go yet."

"No!" Raven shouted. She tried to run the opposite way from him, back towards wherever she started, but when she looked behind her it seemed that she was going nowhere at all. "You're dead!" she shouted at Azar.

"Yes," Azar said. "I have already taken this journey. That's why I was sent to guide you. I know the path, and I can show you the way."

"_I have to help the Titans!_" Raven shrieked. "I have to help my friends!" She nearly started weeping, but held back her tears. "I _can't_ be dead!" She fell to her knees, trying to grasp the enormity of the feelings that were overwhelming her. She didn't have her powers, so she didn't need to suppress them, but it was a habit she had kept for so long that she didn't know how to cope otherwise.

Azar kneeled besides her, a comforting figure. "Malchior finished what his brother started Raven. Neither of them meant for this to happen, but it did. What happens to them, and the Titans, is no longer your concern. It's time for you to rest."

"But- what about Beastboy!" Raven suddenly blurted out. "He- we never got to talk about-"

"Raven, you will never rest peacefully if you cling to regrets," Azar said quietly. "I am sorry you had to give up your life so young, but you cannot change this, merely accept it and move on."

Finally Raven let a tear roll down her cheek. "But. . . Beastboy. . ." she said again. "He. . . watched me die. He was there. How can I ever forgive myself for. . . doing that to him?"

Azar was quiet, and wrapped his arms around the troubled soul in front of him, watching as for the first time she cried out her anger, her frustrations, her joys and her pains in one, great rush.

-------------------

Rorek had slowly made his way over to where Beastboy sat with Raven. "You said something about a spell," he said quietly. "What sort of spell?"

"A resurrection spell. I was supposed to be a one use thing, and I' sure I didn't use it, but don't know why it wouldn't work if I hadn't all ready-" Beastboy said, rambling on.

"Easy boy," Rorek said. "The spell probably hasn't activated because you haven't triggered it. All spells need some sort of trigger- a magic word, a gesture, that sort of thing."

"But I don't _know_ any spell trigger!" Beastboy said desperately.

"Easy! _Easy!_" Rorek repeated, hoping he wouldn't see the big green beast again. "We can deduce the trigger. They're usually related to the spell. If it was a magic word, you'd probably all ready know it, so it must be a gesture."

"How can you be sure?" Beastboy asked.

"Do you _know_ how many trigger words there could be for a spell?" Rorek questioned Beastboy.

"No," Beastboy said, feeling silly.

"Thousands, and that's just in your language," Rorek advised him. "There are hundreds of billions of languages out in the universe, so, for argument's sake, let's pretend that we know that its trigger isn't verbal, it's a gesture. Is that all right with you?"

Beastboy nodded.

"Okay, good," Rorek said. "So, we know the spell is a resurrection spell, that cuts down on the number of gestures we need to go through."

"Why?"

Rorek raised an eyebrow at Beastboy. "Well, you aren't exactly a quick study, but we'll work on it. He raised his good arm. "Tell me, does this-" he drew his finger across his neck in the 'kill' gesture, "-look like a good gesture for a resurrection spell?"

Beastboy waited for a moment, then shook his head slowly.

"That was the right answer," Rorek said. "Now, resurrection typically means bringing someone back form the dead, yada, yada, yada," Rorek waved his hands in the air. "However, different cultures have different translations. For example, a resurrection spell in the Hallaroj culture is generally seen as "putting the thunder back into the soul', so their gesture it sort of like pounding a hammer into the body of the person you're going to bring back to life. So tell me- where did you get this spell from?"

"The book," Beastboy said. "Rorek of Noll's book," he reiterated.  
Rorek looked at the book laying on the ground. "The library. . . I see. Well," he said slowly, "my mother always said bringing something back to life was like giving a body back it's breath. He looked at Beastboy. "You need to kiss her."

"What!" the Titan exclaimed. "_Kiss_ her? She'd kill me! Isn't there something else?"

"Look," Rorek gestured at Raven. "She clearly can't kill you in this state, she' slipping towards the point of no return, where no spell will bring her back, and you're the only one who can save her. Are you going to just let her _die_?"

"No," Beastboy said.

"Then kiss her. Think of it as your typical Earth fairy tale. Here's Sleeping Beauty," he gestured at Raven, "and you're the Beast, going to kiss her and wake her up so you can live happily ever after."

"I think you've got that mixed up-" Beastboy said.

Rorek threw his arms up into the air.

"All right, _all right!_" Beastboy said nervously. He remembered the way Raven reacted the last time he had kissed her. He wasn't really looking for a repeat of that- but if it was the only way, well, he'd take that chance. He leaned over her, brushed some hair away from her face, and kissed her.

It was only seconds before the blackness engulfed him.

-------------------

Raven had finally stopped weeping. Azar held her like a father would throughout, and smiled at her when she finally said, "I'm ready," with a trembling voice.

A pinprick of light appeared at the end of the path. It grew to about a gold ball's size, then remained that way. Azar stood. "Then it's time to complete your journey."

Raven still sat on the ground. "I can't move," she said worriedly.

Azar smiled again. "I'll carry you," he said. He picked her up. "Are you ready?"

Raven nodded slowly. "I think so."

Azar began to walk along the golden path once more, approaching the bright light. The darkness still lingered around them, a reminder of how Raven still felt in her heart.

Beastboy landed a few hundred yards away from them, but could make out Azar and Raven. He called out her name, but the blackness seemed to swallow his words. Changing into a falcon, Beastboy screeched and flew towards the duo.

Raven was beginning to doze in Azar's arms, accepting the quiet comfort of death. She only vaguely heard the falcon's screeches and could not fathom what they were. When he was only a little ways behind them Beastboy returned to his normal form. "RAVEN!" He shouted.

He caught Azar's attention. Azar frowned severally. "You have no business being here. Begone!" he said sharply.

Raven's eyes fluttered open slightly at the sound of Beastboy's voice, but she didn't open her eyes.

"Not without Raven!" Beastboy said, charging up to him. Azar continued to walk calmly towards the light, which was growing rapidly. The were easily three quarters of the way there all ready and closing in on their destination. Beastboy swiped at Azar, but his hand passed right through him. Unfazed, Beastboy tried again, with the same results.

"Stop this foolishness!" Azar barked.

"Let her go!" Beastboy replied. He reached out for Raven, very nearly touched her hand-

Azar's eyes flashed in a white light. Suddenly tendrils shot out of the blackness, pulling Beastboy down into it's unfathomable depths. "Raven! _RAVEN!_" He shouted again. "Wake up! Wake up, please! We need you! I need you!"

Raven's eyes opened slightly. "Beast. . . Boy?" she muttered in a sluggish tone.

Beastboy was going to should out again, but the black tendrils wrapped around his mouth and arms, pulling him further down. He made a muffled shriek of protest. The light was now man-sized, and Azar and Raven were about to enter it. Beastboy felt himself pulled further and further down, screamed mentally, and in a few seconds there would be nothing but black. . .

Then suddenly a hand touched one of the tendrils. They melted away peacefully, as if they had never been there. Beastboy felt himself get up, felt himself sprint towards Azar and Raven, knowing it was far too late-

"Azar, stop."

There was a woman dressed in a blue cloak standing between Raven, Azar and the white light. If Beastboy didn't know any better he would have said it _was_ Raven, just much older, but this woman's features were just slightly different.

"Put my daughter down," the woman said as Azar paused.

Beastboy now understood why the woman reminded him so much of Raven. If this was her mother. . .

"Arella," Azar said, "you should know better than to interfere with a person's journey to the afterlife."

"That is no mere _person_ to me. That is _my_ daughter and you _will_ put her down. Now," Arella said forcefully. "This boy," she pointed at Beastboy, "has summoned me from my final rest so that I might save Raven's life and I intend to do so."

Azar put Raven down on the ground. Beastboy bolted over to her. Raven was still sleeping. "Rae? Wake up!" he said, oblivious to the conversation being held above his head.

"This is a serious breach of the usual procedure Arella. You know that."

"It's not the only time it has happened, and not the only time it will. _You_ know _that._"

"I'm going to only ask you once to reconsider."

"She's my daughter."

"Arella-"

"Let her go."

Azar sighed. "Fine. Raven can return to the world of the living, but this is the only time you can intervene for someone Arella! Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Who else would I want to restore to life?"

Azar paused. "Your point is. . .well taken." He wrapped his cloak around him tighter. "Well, I'm going back to sleep. The next time your daughter passes away, it'll be your responsibility to fetch her. Remember, you can't send her back next time."

Arella just smiled.

Azar stepped through the portal of white light, which became blindingly bright for one moment, then faded to a bearable intensity. Arella stepped towards Beastboy and Raven, and bent over her only child. "You've taken good care of her," Arella said.

"Me? Beastboy stammered. "I got her killed! I was the one who told her to run. That's when Rorek captured her and brought her to the cave where-"

"Hush," Raven's mother said. "Those are merely events. I'm talking about her soul. You and the other Titans have taken good care of it. I was so worried," she stroked Raven's hair, "that she would simply shut herself away when she left Azarath. . . but you and your friends have made her stronger in spirit instead. Thank you for doing that."

Beastboy nodded, dumbfounded.

"Now, you have to leave here," Arella said. "You don't belong. Raven will be too heavy for you to carry in this state- her soul wishes only to rest and will feel like it weighs many times what she should." Arella kissed her daughter's forehead. "Wake up Raven."

Raven's eyes opened. She saw the faces looking over her. "Beastboy? M- mother?"

"It's time for me to go now," Arella said sadly. "Take care of her." She approached the white light, then turned around pointed. "That blue light over there will take you back to life, but beware- if you fall off the path into the darkness, it will swallow you whole Garfield. Watch carefully where you tread."

She disappeared into the white light. Raven reached out as if to grab on and follow her, but she only caught the edge of her mother's cloak, and it slipped out of her grip like water.

"Mother-" Raven said. She bowed her head.

"Come on. We've got to get to that blue light," Beastboy said, offering Raven a hand.

"I'm too tired," Raven said. "I can't move."

"I'll support you," Beastboy said, looping his arm around her and hoisting her up. They walked slowly towards the blue light. The golden path seemed to twist and jump under their feet and while Beastboy discovered that Raven could walk on the blackness, he wasn't exactly willing to try his luck. However, the path ended about ten feet away from the light.

"Do you think you can get there Rae?" He asked, knowing there was no way he could jump for the two of them.

""I could if I could hold onto something," Raven said.

Beastboy frowned. "Okay, how about this?"

He turned into a giraffe, and leaned his long neck out over the black abyss so that it stretched out to the blue light.

Raven put one arm on his neck and used it to pull herself along. While she was walking, Beastboy didn't notice the path shifting under his feet. The closer Raven got to the light, the more unstable his footing became. Finally, when she was just about to enter the light, Beastboy's footing completely disappeared.

"_Beastboy!_" Raven shouted.

"_Raven!_" He shouted in return as he plunged down into nothing. Raven tried to reach out for him, but was swallowed by the blue light before she could reach him, and he plunged down deeper into the darkness.

--------------------

"Beastboy!" Raven woke up with a start. Beastboy's body fell into her lap and she picked him up. "Beastboy? Beastboy! What's wrong? Wake up!" Raven demanded.

"He's not there," Rorek said, startling Raven.

"What do you mean he's not there?" She snapped. Suddenly she paused. Her cloak was blue, not red, and she was thinking clearly. She was exactly the way she had been before Rorek had shattered her mind.

"He went into Death to save you. Doing that comes with the risk of losing one's own soul, as well as the soul you seek to save," Rorek said weakly. He slumped down against a wall. "I feel so tired. . ."

"Don't go to sleep on me! How do I bring him back?" Raven insisted.

"I-" Rorek looked down. "Oh," he said. "That's why I'm so tired."

Raven followed his gaze and noticed that the bone in his broken arm was protruding out of his skin, and he'd been bleeding for quite a while now. Rorek's head lolled in a very uncertain way. Raven leaped forward, though she took care to lay Beastboy down. "You're not leaving me here! You've got to tell me how to get Beastboy and Malchior back to normal!" White light coalesced around her hands and she spread it over his wounds. After a few moments Rorek blinked and got back into an upright position.

Rorek looked at Raven thoughtfully. "I never thought you'd save my life. . ." He hoisted Beastboy up onto his shoulders. "Come on. We've gotta go."

"Go where? And what are we going to do about Beastboy?" Raven said.

"Your green friend is going to have to find his own way out of Death. If he doesn't in the next few minutes. . ." Rorek shook his head.

Raven went whiter than normal. "No. . ." she said hoarsely. "He can't die because he tried to save me!"

"Look, it's not up to you. What is it whether your other friends survive the day. My father went after them using Malchior. We've got to stop him. Can you trust me?" Rorek looked at her.

Raven was slightly taken aback by the question. It took her a moment but she said, "Yes. I can."

"Then this is what we're going to have to do."

Rorek explained his plan as he navigated the crystal cave, carrying Beastboy on his shoulders and leading Raven towards his brother.

------------------

Down, down, down. Beastboy fell, his scream stuck in his throat. He felt like he was suffocating. Then abruptly he stopped falling.

"Got you!" a familiar voice cried. Beastboy felt himself being hauled up onto a small path of light that suddenly changed into a great green forest. Standing in front of him and smiling with his eyes was Rorek of Noll- the first. "Nice to see you again."

Beastboy seemed dumbfounded. "This isn't the library. How can you be here?"

Rorek of Noll laughed. "You do realize that there's only a tiny part of my soul attached to the book, don't you? Most of me is here- in my own little corner of the afterlife."

He gestured and the whole scene changed. It was now a moonlit seascape and they were standing on an outcropping of rock. The waters glowed in multiple colors and they cascaded down into the ocean from a massive river that was emptying its load.

"This was my favorite place while I was alive. Terrock falls, on Teslar. You've never been to Teslar before, have you?"

Beastboy shook his head. "No, I can't say that I have."

"Beautiful planet. You should try and visit it if you get a chance," Rorek of Noll said. "Anyway, I'm glad I caught you before you fell too far, otherwise you would have been lost forever."

"You mean- I would have _died_?" Beastboy said, terrified.

"Not died, _per se_," Rorek of Noll reiterated. "Your soul would have been irreversibly separated from your body. You would have breathing and all that jazz, and with an IV drip you would have lived many years, but people without souls aren't know for being great conversationalists."

"So, how do I get back to my body?" Beastboy asked.

"Well, I'd take you but I'm not allowed to," Rorek of Noll said.

"So. . . that's it?" Beastboy said. "I'm finished?"

"No," Rorek of Noll said. "They're going to take you."

He pointed at two approaching figures. Beastboy couldn't make them out at first. They were too far away and it was too dark. When they were about five feet away from him Beastboy realized who they were.

"M- m- mom? D- dad?" He said tears welling up in his eyes.

"Garfield!" Marie Logan said, throwing her arms open. Beastboy ran to her like he was a small child once again.

"Hello Gar," His father said, ruffling his son's hair. "We don't have much time to talk I'm afraid. We've got to get you back to the other side."

Beastboy, still teary eyes, nodded. "I- I miss you guys. . . so much."

"We miss you too darling," his mother said. "Still it was our time. It wasn't yours. And it isn't yours today," she added, smiling. She took Beastboy's hand. "Thank you for guiding him Rorek."

Rorek of Noll bowed elegantly. "It was my pleasure. You're son's a very special boy. I feel privileged to have met him." He nodded at the changeling. "You take care of yourself, all right?"

Beastboy made a sort of assenting noise, but he was too focused on his parents to really notice the fact that the waterfall faded away into nothing. Rorek disappeared in a way that was akin to the Cheshire Cat, his eyes lingering for a few moments longer than the rest of him.

"Garfield, your mother and I want you to know a few things before we have to part," Dr. Logan said. "First of all, you should never blame yourself for what happened to us. You know that right son?"

"Yeah," Beastboy said. "But-"

"Ah, ah!" His father wagged a finger. "You've heard my opinion young man. Now, secondly, while we understand that you can't do anything about your coloring, we'd both like you to know that neither of us wants you to dye your hair some _other_ funky color. We're both particularly opposed to purple, orange-"

"-And red," his mother added.

"-because they will clash horribly with your skin," his father finished. "However, if you do decided to do something. . . rash. . . such as that, we're still going to love you no matter what." They had now arrived at the blue light one again. His mother and father hugged him tightly. His mother got very teary and began sniffling, and his father ruffled his hair again. "This is where you get off."

Beastboy stood in front of the light and gazed back at them. "I love you guys," he choked.

"We love you too," his mother said in a trembling voice.

Beastboy turned around and took a step into the light.

"Garfield!" His father shouted as the light consumed his vision and blotted his parent's from view. "We're proud of you!"

Beastboy reached out, and thought he felt his parent's hands brush against his. Then he opened his eyes. "Mom. . . Dad. . ." he murmured.

The first thing that came into view was a black goatee.

"Where the heck am I?" he said.

"Beastboy!"

Beastboy twisted, and Raven's face came into view. "Raven! You're all right."

"Let me put him down before the hugging commences, all right?" Rorek asked. once Beastboy was on his two feet again, Raven walked up to him-

- and slapped him as hard as she could.

"_Never_ do that again!" She yelled. "Do you know how much you scared me?"

Beastboy rubbed his cheek. "That hurt. . ." he said.

"Are you. . . _crying_?" Raven said, startled. There was traces of wetness in his eyes.

Beastboy rubbed his eyes. "I guess I am," he laughed in a sort of strained, awkward way. Raven looked totally confused. "My parents. . . they're proud of me. They're proud of me Rae."

Raven was still slightly confused, but on instinct she moved towards Beastboy. He wrapped his arms around her, half laughing, half crying. They hugged each other for a long, long moment.

"I really, really hate to interrupt this," Rorek interjected, "but I think we have some more pressing matters to deal with."

Flames erupted in the corridor in front of them, and they saw the other Titans rushing towards them.

"That it _not_ good!" Beastboy said.

"Get behind us," Raven ordered him. "Rorek and I have a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Beastboy asked.

Rorek answered, "The kind that if it doesn't work they'll be scraping up our remains off the ground and using them as potting soil."

Beastboy looked pale. "Oh. That kind of plan."

"Raven! Beastboy! Look out!" Robin shouted as they ran towards the trio. "Malchior's right behind us!"

Rorek glanced at Raven. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Is there any other way?" Raven questioned him.

"Any other way that would work? No."

"Then I'm sure."

"What's going on?" Beastboy asked.

Rorek looked at him. "Hold Raven's hand."

"Why?"

"It'll keep her anchored."

"Anchored?" Beastboy asked.

Raven reached out and wrapped her fingers around his. "I'm going to be channeling my father's power."

"Okay. . ." Beastboy said. "Wait-! You're going to _what?_"

"We don't have time for this-!" Rorek said. With a grand, dance-like gesture he created a wall of glass between the approaching Titans and the flames that pursued them. Cyborg tumbled to the ground as Starfire let him go. Terra and Robin crashed into the ground, the rock skidding into a wall as they leapt away from it.

"Out of the fire and into the frying pan," Cyborg said. "Heads up people- the older brother's here!"

"It's okay Cy, he's on our side," Beastboy said.

"I am very confused," Starfire said. "Is Malchior good or not? And is Rorek evil or not?"

"The only thing evil here is the demon inhabiting Malchior," Raven said firmly. "Rorek and I are going to stop him."

Robin dusted himself off and looked at the flames that were pounding against the glass. "How, exactly?"

"We're going to overpower him," Rorek said grimly.

"Overpower? That guy tossed us around with less effort than you exerted!" Terra exclaimed. "How are you going to overpower him?"

"Watch and learn," Rorek said. "And staying back is also advisable. The ride's going to be a little bumpy."

Raven held Beastboy's hand tighter. Beastboy could have sworn she was trembling slightly. The flames began to die down on the other side of the glass. The remaining Titans slipped behind Rorek, Raven and Beastboy and watched as Malchior, four red eyes blazing, approached the glass.

"Get ready," Rorek advised. The demon marks blazed across his skin. "Take her chakra off," he advised Beastboy, pointing at the red stone on Raven's forehead

Still holding Raven's hand, Beastboy reached up with his other hand to touch Raven's chakra. He'd never seen Raven without the stone on her forehead and for what seemed like forever he hesitated taking it off.

In that moment, Malchior touched the glass with his right pointer finger. A crack formed, slowly at first, then spiraled out into a spider web design, picking up speed. Raven formed a shield around the Titans and Rorek right before the glass exploded towards them. Beastboy pulled the chakra off of Raven's forehead. Demonic symbols blazed to life across her skin, and her eyes turned red.

"_FATHER!" _Rorek roared.

"**_I seem to have underestimated you Rorek,_**" Cicor said through Malchior's mouth. "**_I won't make that mistake-_**" The demon stopped. "**_Impossible. . ._**"

"I suppose you thought you killed me," Raven said, her voice fierce and biting.

"**_I KNOW I KILLED YOU!_**" Malchior shrieked.

"What do you think father? Can you stand against two people you thought dead? One who shares your power, and one who has the power of another?" Rorek smirked. "You always knew Trigon was stronger than you- and so was I."

Malchior's mouth opened, but he paused. He blinked all four eyes. "**_What are these lights?_**" Cicor growled.

"Mal- I know you're in there!" Rorek shouted. "Come back to me!"

"**_SHUT UP!_**" Malchior shouted. He lashed out with power, throwing Rorek backwards.

"_Azarath, Metrion, **Zinthos**!" _Raven bellowed. Black energy shot out at Malchior, knocking him off his feet. Raven ad Rorek were both fully aware that they had one distinct disadvantage against Malchior/Cicor. He wouldn't be afraid to kill them. While they really didn't want to hurt him. Raven felt part of her wanting to simply snap Malchior's neck and be done with it, but she knew she couldn't give in to that side. She could feel the energies her chakra was emitting. It was being transmitted by Beastboy's hand holding onto hers, a foresight she was glad Rorek had.

Malchior recovered much more quickly than Raven had expected. He was back on his feet and gesturing in a violent way that Raven did not recognize. Rorek shouted a warning and Beastboy took it seriously, pulling Raven to one side, into his arms, and away from the terrible invisible energy that the demon Cicor had channeled through his son. The other Titans dodged the blow as well, watching in horror as the energies sliced through the crystal and rock behind them as if it was nothing.

Malchior's attention was, unfortunately, drawn to Beastboy. "**_You! You're part of the problem!_**" He snarled. "**_Hollukx, tilitmar, nox!_**" He shrieked, gesturing wildly.

A blood red wave of light rushed at Raven and Beastboy. It was too broad and too fast for them to dodge. They braced for impact- but it never came.

Rorek the Black leapt in front of the duo, spreading his arms and roared, "_MALCHIOR!"_

The red wave hit him straight on. Rorek spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees before he began to fall. He seemed to fall for an age, his eyes wide in shock and his mouth still frozen in a cry for his brother. He landed heavily on his side, and did not move.

"Rorek!" Beastboy and Raven echoed.

Robin pushed his way in front. He turned Rorek onto his back and looked at his face. Picking up his wrist, he felt for a pulse. "Nothing," he said. "Cy! Get over here, quickly!"

Cyborg hustled over as best he could while attaching his other leg, finally. "This doesn't look goo Rob," he said.

"We've gotta try to save him. Do you have enough juice to hive him a jump-start?"

"Yeah, but only one or two shocks. After that I won't have enough."

"You've gotta try man!" Beastboy said frantically, leaning over. "He saved us!"

Malchior appeared frozen, staring at the cluster of Titans gathering around his brother's body. "No-" he choked, in his normal voice. "No! Rorek! Rrraaagggghhh!" Malchior grabbed his head. "_I won't give into you!_" He screamed.

Raven stepped away from Beastboy and grabbed Malchior's hands, pulling them away from his head. She replaced them with hers. "Begone Demon, back to the hell-fires from which you came! **_Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!_**"

"**_NOOOOOOOOOOOO!_**" Cicor shrieked, trying to keep his hold on his son. Raven's powers, greatly enhanced by the small demonic part of her she was able to embrace without her chakra, drove him out in a series of blows, each more powerful then the last. After several long moments, he was gone entirely. Malchior's sightless eyes started back at her.

"Help me with your brother," Raven said to Malchior. "He'll die without you."

"I killed him!" Malchior said, looking stricken with guilt.

"We can save him," Raven said, not sure where her confidence was coming from. She took his hand and led him over.

"Rorek," Malchior said quietly. "I can hardly see his aura," he whispered. He placed his hand on his brother's forehead.

Raven extended her healing powers over Rorek. "Malchior, help me."

Malchior nodded, his powers extending as well. The other Titans, besides Beastboy, moved back slightly. After several minutes, Rorek's eyes focused, and he took a deep breath.

"Mal. . ." Rorek smiled. He reached up, and the two brothers hugged for a long time. The crystal cave seemed to melt around them, until they were sitting in the dark cave that Terra had been housed in for so long.

Raven wavered, the drain on her powers and the demonic side of her pushing forward causing her to weaken. Beastboy caught her, and gently pushed the chakra back on her forehead. Raven smiled at him weakly and mumbled thanks.

"I dunno about you guys," Cyborg said, "but I'm ready to go home."

Everyone agreed with him.

----------------------

It took a few hours for Rorek to apologize and fully explain what he had been trying to do. "I've hunted so many demons and demon-spawn across so many galaxies. . . It never crossed my mind that someone else might be able to conquer the evil inside them like I had. So I tried to lure you Titans away from Raven in order to, well, destroy her. At one point I realized she was good, then I became convinced that she had to embrace her demonic nature, and to make her do so I shattered her mind." Rorek sighed, "I had all good intentions, but went about it all wrong."

"We understand," Raven said, sounding tired.

"I'm going to take some time off from Demon hunting for a while," Rorek added. "To correct my other great mistake." He looked over at Malchior. "When he came to blind me I was so heartbroken, and then so full of rage, I threw his spell back at him without thinking. It cost him his sight and I intend to bring that back."

"And after that we're both going to be doing a little demon hunting I suppose," Malchior added with a smile. "It's much more entertaining than running away from him, and considering I have nothing to run _from_. . ."

Beastboy held out the white book to them. "I suppose you'll be taking this too?"

The Brothers of Noll looked at each other for a moment, then Rorek pressed it back into Beastboy's hands. "Keep it. As a momento of our meeting. Mal and I don't really need it."

Robin shook his head. "And all the while we thought you wanted the book."

Rorek laughed. "Life always has ways of surprising you, doesn't it?" His eyes were on Beastboy as he said it, but on 'doesn't it?' They flicked over to Raven and back.

"We'd love to stay longer," Malchior said, "but I do believe we've inconvenienced you quite enough. I hope to see you sometime. Literally," he added with a laugh.

"We hope so too," Terra said wit ha grin. "Thanks for chipping me out."

"It was my pleasure," Malchior nodded.

Starfire wrapped her arms around the two alien brothers, who now found themselves gasping for air. "Oh we will miss you most terribly friends! You must return to see us again!"

"Windpipe. . . Being. . . Crushed!" Rorek gasped.

Starfire let go. "What?"

"We promise we'll be back," Rorek said, rubbing his throat. He winked at Robin, "We'll be less of a handful next time."

"I sure hope so," Robin said in a good-natured way. "Take it easy."

Rorek and Malchior shook hands and hugged the Titans as if they had known each other all their lives. Both brothers addressed Raven last.

"I came here to take you life, and instead you gave me back mine," Rorek said, grasping her hand. "I can never repay that, but I will try." He kissed it in a gentlemanly way. His eyes met hers for a moment and Raven heard his voice in her mind. _Showing a little emotion now and then won't kill you. You don't have to wear it on your sleeve, but letting people know you care is the best thing. And keeping the truth from others isn't a wise move_, he added. _That includes keeping it from yourself._

Before Raven could think or say anything Rorek had moved away and Malchior had stepped up to her. He touched her face gently, and tears pooled up in his eyes. "Your aura is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I will never forget you, or any of the other Titans. You've given me so much." Malchior's voice now slipped into her mind. _He loves you, you know. _

Raven looked confused. _Who?_

Malchior smiled broadly. _Not many people risk their lives to save others from Death._

For a moment Raven thought he meant Rorek, but She had a feeling Malchior was looking with his mind's eye towards someone behind her. She glanced back for a moment and saw Beastboy, who was watching her and Malchior intently, but when he realized she was looking at him, Beastboy quickly turned away. Malchior kissed Raven's hand, as his brother had, and walked to stand besides Rorek.

"We'll walk you to the door," Robin offered.

"Who said anything about the door?" Rorek asked. He walked to the window and touched it. The glass seemed to shimmer, and turn into a substance that looked like the surface of a soap bubble. "Come on Mal! There are places to see, things to do, and people to meet."

With a final last wave, the Titans watched as Malchior and Rorek passed through the window and flew off into the sky. After a few seconds the window shimmered again and appeared to once more be made of glass. Cyborg tapped on it.

"Those guys are amazing. We should recruit them if they ever come back," he said.

"What's that?" Terra asked, pointing to a series of tiny scratches on the glass.

Cyborg bent down. "It's some sort of writing. . ." He Squinted with his human eye and zoomed in with his mechanical one. "I don't believe it," he laughed.

"What? What is it?" Robin asked.

"It says 'Rorek was here.'"

"Somehow I'm not really all that surprised," Robin said.

As Cyborg turned away new words appeared, tinier and in script:

**_And Malchior too._**


	8. Epilogue

Raven woke up in the middle of the night, still a bit shaken by the events of the past few days. She floated out into the kitchen to fix herself some tea, then took a stroll around the Tower. Just as she was going to head back to her room, she heard the sounds of the piano being played. Curious, Raven went to investigate.

She opened the door to the music room a tiny crack and saw a monkey, suspended by his tail to the light fixture on the piano, trying to reach keys on the piano with both his feet and hands. He wasn't doing so well. He was managing to his a few, but most of the keys were too far away for him to touch.

The monkey changed into an octopus, now draped across the piano bench. Tough this certainly gave him the range he needed, he didn't have any of the fine motor control necessary to hit certain chords and single keys. Frustrated, the octopus changed back into Beastboy and banged his head against the piano, the harsh discord echoing his sigh of frustration.

"It's much easier to play a duet with a second person," Raven informed him, as she was now leaning against the door frame and sipping her tea in amusement.

Beastboy shot up off the piano bench. "Raven! I didn't know you were awake!"

Raven walked over to him, then past him, and sat down at the piano. Beastboy blinked and stared at her.

"Well? Are we going to play or not?" She asked.

Beastboy sat down, smiling in surprise. Raven looked at him. He began playing the deep tones that she had taught him, and she came in playing the melody. Raven sang along with the song for a few moments before she paused. Beastboy's playing trailed off as hers did. Raven looked at him.

"What?" He asked, worried that he had done something wrong.

"The pizza place is open 24 hours, right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. . . Why?"

Raven got up off the piano bench and held out her hand to him. "Let's go get dinner."

Beastboy took her hand, grinning broadly.

**_The End_**

Author's Note: I had to do this scene. Until the next Titans fiction I do, have a good time!


End file.
